Peaceful Misery
by ausllydawmoon
Summary: Princess Alison Marie Dawson of Egaia is sick of being someone she isn't. Whether it's her nagging mother or her simple wish to be able to be herself, something drives her to run away from the kingdom to find peace. When you throw the world's most notorious outlaw into the mix, there's no doubt her life is going to turn upside down. Just your not-so-average take on Robin Hood.
1. Chapter 1

" _Alison_ ," Her Royal Pain-In-Ally's-Butt scolds, "how many times have I told you? Raise only the cup, _not_ the saucer!"

It's a wonder how her mother can keep her voice so elegant and gentle while somehow managing to chastise Ally loud and clear.

"Right. Sorry," she mutters as she sets down the small piece of expensive china.

" _Alison_."

"My apologies, mother," Ally tries again in the daintiest, most gentle voice she can muster through her gritted teeth.

The Queen of Egaia nods in approval. Ally takes it as a sign to continue trying to enjoy her afternoon tea.

Oh, who is she kidding? She doesn't even _like_ tea.

She tries to swallow it all in one gulp, and her mother nearly has a heart attack.

" _Alison Marie_ , you take _one sip at a time_!"

Ally sets down her cup and takes a deep breath, clenching her fists in her lap where her mother can't see them.

"My apologies, mother."

"Alison, you are nineteen years old. I've been trying to teach you proper etiquette for almost fifteen years. Will you _ever_ learn?"

Ally thinks about it, and then responds with a firm "Nope!"

"Honey, you're going to be married soon-"

"Yeah, to some idiot prince who probably spends more time looking at himself in the mirror than learning how to rule a kingdom."

"Alright, I think that's enough for today. Go meet your tutor."

"Mother, I've been studying since I woke up this morning!" she whines.

"Alison," her mother says sharply.

A lady _never_ whines.

"I know, I know," Ally says before the Queen can remind her. She grabs a scone from the table and stuffs it in her mouth to spite her mother, pushes her chair back in the nosiest and most obnoxious way possible, hikes up her dress, and walks off.

"Off" means her room, and "her room" means the highest tower in the castle. Her parents claim that the highest tower offers the most protection, as it would be the hardest to access by attackers, but Ally's pretty sure that her parents like to keep her cooped up out of reach so she can't cause a ruckus and give the Royal family a bad name.

Honestly, she doesn't understand what she's been doing wrong. Sure, she isn't very ladylike, and maybe she's slightly disrespectful and childish, and she could quite possibly disregard all the rules and regulations that come with being a princess, but she's just being herself. It isn't like she _asked_ to be royalty. She probably would've been happier as a peasant, anyway.

As soon as she gets to her room, she locks the door and sheds the wretched dress her maids forced her into. They gushed for twenty minutes about how _gorgeous_ she looked in it, but looking in the mirror she definitely thought she looked like an undercooked pastry.

Not that she's expected to know what that looks like. As far as her parents are concerned, she's never set foot in the kitchen in her life.

As far as _she's_ concerned, however, she makes the trip every day before dinner. _Someone_ has to make sure that the dessert isn't poisoned.

She puts on the silky pajama pants and shirt that she had her tailor secretly make for her. The nightgowns her mother insists on having made for her are almost as dreadful as the dresses.

Ally looks out her window at the view of what will soon be her kingdom and sighs. One day, she'll be able to make her own choices. And if whoever her husband ends up being tries to say otherwise, he can go to the guillotine.

* * *

"Princess, it's time for supper," she hears a young boy's shy voice on the other side of her door. Of course, her father would send a squire for her instead of actually coming himself.

She opens the door and smiles at the boy gently. He can't be older than nine.

"Thank you."

He stares at her, wide-eyed.

"Um, Princess Alison-"

"It's Ally."

"Well, you're in your pajamas."

She looks down at herself and debates going downstairs anyway. Her mother might have an aneurism.

"Right. I better change. Thanks for telling me," she says. She retreats back into her room and changes into the dress from earlier, not bothering to go to the trouble of calling maids to help her. She can dress herself.

Twenty minutes later, and she realizes she _can't_ dress herself.

"Elena!" she calls.

She hears quick footsteps on the staircase, a faint knock at her door, and then her shy maid (also her favorite maid, might she add) enters the room.

"What can I do, Princess?"

"Help me get into this bloody dress!" Ally grunts, trying in vain to fix the mess that her gown has become.

"Of course," Elena says.

Quickly, expertly, Elena fixes the disaster and Hurricane Ally resembles a princess again.

"Thank you," Ally says. Elena gives a polite curtsey and scurries out of the room.

Ally walks (more like trips in intervals) down the stairs and makes her way to the dining hall, where her parents are already seated.

"There you are, Alison," the King says warmly.

"You're late," her mother tells her. "A lady is never late."

"I'm not late," Ally says with a shrug. "You're simply early."

Her father smiles, but her mother doesn't move.

Ally purses her lips and sits down, crossing her ankles and folding her hands in her lap, keeping her posture in check and her shoulders relaxed. She glances at her mother, who seems pleased.

The servants bring out the first course, and Ally plays Good Little Princess and uses all the proper etiquette her mother has taught her. She truly dislikes arguing with the Queen.

"So, Alison," her father says, "how was your day?"

"Fine, thank you. How was yours?"

"Well, it was a bit stressful. I had a bit of a quarrel with one of my generals about defense tactics."

He stops there. No explanation of the argument, no nothing. Apparently ladies aren't supposed to be interested in that kind of thing.

"Oh? What was the quarrel about?" Ally presses. Her mother shoots her a warning look, but she ignores it.

Her father seems slightly surprised at her interest.

"See, fires are becoming more widely used in offense, and I'm worried that the outlaws might find out about it. We don't have much defense against fires. Thomas says our moat will do just fine, but I think we should do something more," her father explains slowly, as if he's talking to a toddler.

Ally swallows a spoonful of her soup.

"Well, you're the King. Can't you do whatever you want?"

"In theory, yes," her father says. "And I would do something about my concern, but I'm not certain if there's anything I _can_ do, at the moment."

"What, to defend against fires?"

She knows her dialect is far too casual for a lady (at least, that's what the Queen says) but she doesn't really care.

"Yes."

"Oh. Well, I think-"

" _Alison_ ," her mother finally interrupts.

"Mother, I was just-"

" _No_. What have I told you?"

"Lots of things."

The cold look her mother gives her raises goosebumps on Ally's shoulders.

"Ladies are seen and not heard," she finally mutters.

"Ladies don't mumble, Alison," her mother says.

"Ladies are seen and not heard," Ally repeats, loud enough for her mother to hear. The Queen nods and returns to eating her soup.

Ally stares down at hers and wonder's what's boiling more: her appetizer or her blood.

* * *

"Johnathan, may I ask you a favor?" Ally asks her tailor in the sweetest voice she can muster.

"Of course, Princess," the man says with a nod.

"Could you maybe, possibly, make me another shirt and another pair of pants?"

"The Queen-"

"Won't know a thing," Ally interrupts. "Please?"

Johnathan sighs.

"Yes, Princess."

"Oh, and can you make it, like, a leafy green color? You know how much I love that color."

"Of course, miss."

She has never mentioned the color green to him in all the nineteen years of her life.

"Thank you!"

She kisses his cheek and skips out, hurrying up to her room.

Once safely inside with the door latched tight, she reaches into the folds of her dress. (One upside to the dreadful clothing is that the layers and folds make _great_ hidden pockets.) She adds her stolen breakfast food to the stash in the leather messenger bag she may or may not have coerced a young knight to give her.

Looking at the checklist in her notebook, she decides that she should be ready by the end of the week. The thought makes her smile.

She sets the book down and walks over to the mirror on her wall. She pulls her dress down to reveal her Royal Mark between her right collar bone and her shoulder.

The Royal Mark differentiates Royals from peasants, knights, nobles, and outlaws. _Only_ royal families have this special birthmark, and she thanks her lucky stars that her family's isn't as extravagant as others she's seen and heard about. (She once heard a few knights talking about one legendary family whose Royal Mark covered their faces). The Dawson Royal Mark, however, is just a simple, small sun design that is easily covered by clothing.

Ally fixes her dress again, but keeps staring at herself in the mirror. She looks into her own determined eyes and wonders why the thought of running away didn't cross her mind earlier.

A voice in her mind tells her that she'll never pull it off, but she's an optimist. She already has a plan.

* * *

A week later and, just as she predicted, she's ready to go. She stuffs the clothes Johnathan made her in her bag, along with a bit more food, water, and other necessities.

She looks at herself in the mirror again and almost laughs at how elegant she looks. _Not for long_ , she thinks to herself. In the mirror, she gives herself a curt nod and walks out of the room.

"Elena, please tell mother I'm going to read to the schoolchildren in town!" she calls out to her maid, wherever she is. She hears the girl's footsteps downstairs.

Her father has already left to go do whatever it is he does every day, and she assumes her mother is off making children cry. So she nods to the guards and walks out the door with ease.

Across the drawbridge she goes, and she has never felt more proud in her life. She's doing it. She's _actually_ doing it with no opposition.

As she walks through town, she tries not to think of the dangers she will inevitably face once she escapes the safety of Egaia. Large animals that like to eat petite princesses, for one thing. Starvation, thirst, disease…the list goes on. But if she's being honest, there's something that she fears above all else about running away into the wilderness.

Austin Moon.

His Wanted poster is everywhere in the kingdom. They don't care if he's dead or alive, and a hefty reward is offered for his capture. He is the most notorious, most dangerous outlaw in all the world.

Those who've been lucky enough to survive one of his raids say he's big, and he's not alone. They say he takes everything valuable, and will stop at nothing to get it. They say his eyes are dark and cold, and his voice is low and intimidating.

By "they" she means the nobles, knights, and visiting Royals that have run across him. She isn't sure she's ever heard peasants talking about him.

Nevertheless, _he_ is who she's most afraid will be the cause of her death. She's been hearing of him for years, and she doesn't think he'd make any excuses for an innocent little princess.

Especially not when this innocent little princess doesn't know when to shut her mouth.

But Ally's already on the run, and now she has to go through with it. The wilderness outside the kingdom is huge. She'd probably have to go through three lifetimes before running into him.

When she arrives at the gates of the kingdom, the gatekeeper looks shocked. He hurriedly stands up from where he was sitting on the ground and bows.

"Princess Alison. May I ask what brings you here?"

"The Queen has sent me on business. I am to meet an escort just a quarter of a mile into the woods. I know the way, and I'm to go alone."

"Alright," the gatekeeper says, no questions asked.

She smiles gratefully as he opens the gate for her.

"Thank you." She curtseys politely and walks out.

As soon as she sets foot in the woods and is sure she can't be seen by anyone in the kingdom, she hurriedly strips her gown and puts on the comfy clothes from Johnathan. She smiles contently and looks down at the sneakers she managed to steal and nods before continuing on her merry little way.

Where she's going, she's not sure. What she _is_ sure of is that Princess Alison Marie Dawson is no more. She's just Ally now, and she couldn't be happier.

* * *

 **I'm back with a new story! (No, I'm not quite done with WYFAF yet but I was too excited to wait any longer to start this one!) I'm super excited about it and I hope you guys are too! Reviews are wonderful!**


	2. Chapter 2

She wakes up on her third day on the run with a smile on her face. She sleeps better on the ground than she ever did in her feathery bed at the castle.

She sits up and stretches, inhaling the clean air and letting the sun warm her face. Looking around the small camp she's made up for herself, she smiles even more.

She's spent the last nineteen years of her life getting earful after earful about how she can't do anything for herself. She's a lady. Ladies shouldn't do anything except cook, clean, sew, and have kids. Ladies _can't_ do anything other than that. And besides, she's royalty; she doesn't even have to do most of those things anyway.

But now, looking at her small, probably pretty pathetic, little camp, she can't help but feel even prouder than she already did. Because _she_ did this. She can take care of herself and she's _independent_ and that's something she's dreamed of being her whole life.

Leaning back against a tree, she takes out some breakfast from her bag and starts eating it. She packed a lot of food, so hopefully by the time she runs out she will have learned how to hunt.

Once she finishes her breakfast, she gets up and shoulders her bag, beginning her walk to the creek about half a mile away.

She can see the water when she hears it. The rustle of branches, the cracking of twigs, the heavy breathing of something inhuman.

Her heart pounds and she tries to stay calm. Slowly, she turns around to face the creature behind her.

Most princesses face being captured by a dragon. She faces being mauled by a grizzly bear.

 _No_. She is _not_ a princess anymore. And she's a smart girl. She can think her way out of this.

But this staring contest with the bear isn't exactly helping her think. She swallows and tries to calm her shallow breathing.

The bear shifts, and she closes her eyes, her heart beating faster. She's about to make the decision to try her luck running away, when she hears something whistle past her ear, a quiet thud, and then a loud thud.

She opens her eyes to see the bear dead in front of her with an arrow between its eyes.

Knitting her eyebrows together, she turns around, coming face to face with her worst nightmare.

She thought it'd take three lifetimes to run into Austin Moon. It took all of three days.

"You shouldn't be out here alone," he says.

Remembering that he doesn't know who she is, she decides to try playing it off cool. Taking in his fitted green clothing, not unlike hers, she speaks.

"Who are you, Peter Pan?"

"You know who I am. Everyone does. Are you really alone?"

"Yes."

"Not very smart."

"I'm _plenty_ smart, thank you very much."

He hasn't threatened her life yet, and until that happens, she refuses to be afraid.

"Yeah? How long have you been an outlaw?"

"What makes you think I'm an outlaw?"

"If you aren't, you're dumber than I thought."

"Well, I've been an outlaw for three years."

"Alone? And you're still alive?"

She nods, putting her hands on her hips.

"But you're, like, fifteen."

"I'm _nineteen_."

"So you're telling me you've been out here alone since you were sixteen, with no weapons or anything, but I just had to save your life from a bear?"

"I was about to save my own life, thank you. I have a knife."

"Oh, then you must be an expert," he says sarcastically. "C'mon."

He starts walking away, and she frowns.

"What?"

He stops and turns around, beckoning for her to follow him.

"It'd be a felony for me to leave you out here all alone any longer."

"You're an outlaw. Do you think that because I'm a lady I can't take care of myself?!"

"I think that it's a miracle you're still alive after three years because anyone alone out here for that long should be dead, especially because you're so young and clearly naïve. You being a _'lady'_ has nothing to do with it."

She remembers the stories that he isn't alone, and she takes a deep breath.

"Well, if you're so experienced, how old are you?"

"Twenty-three as of yesterday."

"That's still pretty young."

"Four years older than you."

"More like three and a half."

"Whatever. Are you coming or not?"

She's never been one to go against her gut, but she's full of surprises. So, despite every single voice in her mind screaming at her to stay put, she follows the blonde boy.

"What're you gonna do with that bear?" she asks him.

"Leave it for the animals. Fattens them up, puts some more meat on them."

"Why don't you just eat it?"

"Bear tastes disgusting."

"Oh."

They walk in silence, and she tries to think about anything except the fact that she's blindly following the most dangerous outlaw in the world to probably meet up with his band of criminals.

"Happy birthday," she speaks after a while. "Did you get your annual supply of pixie dust?"

"One more Peter Pan joke and I'll put the point of my sword right between your eyes."

Well, there's the threat on her life. But she isn't quite afraid yet. In fact, she's slightly amused.

"Alright, if I can't call you Peter Pan, what _can_ I call you?"

"Austin."

"That's quite boring."

"Then call me Moon."

"Still boring."

"That's my name."

"Exactly."

"I'm beginning to regret saving your life."

"I could've saved my own life."

"I'll remember that next time."

"So, where are we going, exactly?" she asks.

"Back to camp."

"With all your friends?"

"You sound scared."

"I'm not."

He doesn't reply, and she doesn't speak anymore. She follows him in silence, both scared and slightly excited to see how these outlaws live.

She's been told they're like savages, animals. She's heard story after story of the mad, wild looks in their eyes, the way they feast on raw animals right after they kill them, that they're hardly even lingual. But Austin's plenty fluent in the English language as far as she can tell, and his eyes don't look mad _or_ wild. Cold, yes. Dark and mysterious, sure. But mad? Not really.

Austin stops walking in front of a stone wall with dark green vines crawling up the side of it. Ally stares at it, blinks, and then speaks.

"This is a wall."

"Yes it is."

"Why are we standing in front of a wall?"

Austin doesn't say anything for a moment.

"You know what, I'm gonna test you. Surely you've gained at least _some_ experience with three years alone out here, and you say you're _plenty_ smart. So this wall is your hint, and I want you to figure out how to get to the camp."

Ally looks at him, taken aback.

"You can't expect me to do that."

Austin shrugs, crosses his arms, and leans against a tree. He looks at her expectantly, and she huffs in frustration.

"You wanna be one of us, you find your way," the boy says.

"I never said I wanted to be one of you."

"Oh, so you wanna keep it up alone? Because at this point I think you're on borrowed time," he fires back.

She huffs again and turns back around to face the wall. She takes a step back to observe it from farther away, and examines the rock to the left and right of where she's standing. The vines in front of her sway in the slight breeze and-

Wait. If the vines are growing _on_ the wall, they shouldn't be able to move, should they?

Hoping to all her wishing stars she isn't about to embarrass herself in front of Austin Moon, she reaches out to move a few of the vines in front of her aside. Sure enough, the rock gives way to a tunnel behind them. She grins and turns around to look at Austin proudly.

"Not bad," he says, though from the tone of his voice she can tell he isn't really that impressed. He peels himself away from the tree and leads her through the tunnel.

"Do you ever get scared that the rock is all just gonna fall on top of you?" she asks in the darkness.

"No, no I don't. Why, are _you_ scared?"

"Of course not," she says confidently. "I'm not scared of anything."

"Yeah, okay," Austin says. She hears a hint of amusement in his voice.

She sees light up ahead and grins excitedly, forgetting about how dangerous all of this is. From what she's heard, Austin should've killed her by now. Meeting up with his outlaw friends isn't the best idea, but she becomes less and less aware of it the closer she gets to the camp.

They finally walk out of the tunnel, and Ally blinks a few times to get used to the sunlight after the darkness. When her eyes adjust and she looks around the camp, her jaw drops.

She was expecting some drabby makeshift shelters and maybe a fire pit. What she sees is a beautiful, civilized community that looks like something out of a fairytale.

They're completely surrounded by the rock wall, except for the tunnel she and Austin just came through. Across from her is a sparkling waterfall that empties into a wide creek that snakes across the clearing, flowing into a clear pond on her right. She sees a wooden bridge going across the creek, and on the other side is a fire pit with chairs all around it. Some of them she can see are made from rocks, logs, and anything else they'd be able to find out here. But some she recognizes are cheap plastic chairs from the castle, the ones they use for public events taking place there. To the left of the fire pit she sees three wooden tables that have items glinting silver in the sunlight. Then she realizes the items are weapons, and her stomach drops a bit. Looking to the right of the fire pit, she sees fruit trees growing, with a few people walking between them. Beyond the fire pit is a clear area with patches of wildflowers growing everywhere.

On the side of the creek they're standing on, she sees a big rectangular wooden table, but with no chairs around it. She assumes that they carry their chairs from around the fire when the table's in use. There's a large tarp draped over a string pulled taut between two trees on the edge of the clearing, and she sees a pile of _things_ inside. Those must be all their supplies, she decides.

The trees on this side provide a large canopy of shade, and under it she notices a kitchen and lots of other little work spaces. There are people at all of them.

But what is by far the most impressive are the living quarters. She doesn't see them at first, but then she glances up at the trees and there they are. These people live in _treehouses_. They're not very high up, and they're not very big, but they are absolutely the _coolest_ things Ally has ever seen. There are intricate wooden bridges connecting them all, and because the trees are so densely packed, the treehouses have sturdy foundations of branches to sit on. She even notices little balconies on some of them.

"Whoa…" she whispers in awe.

"Pretty cool, huh?"

"You-you guys _built_ all this?"

"Well, some stuff we stole from the Royals, but yeah. The houses and stuff, that was all us."

"How long did that take?"

"A while. We've been out here since I was fourteen."

"You were young."

"Yeah. There are a few people who were fifteen or sixteen."

"How many of you are there?"

"Ten, fifteen-ish. I don't know."

"That's a lot. You're the leader?"

"You could say that."

She keeps looking around, still in awe at what these supposed savages have accomplished. People who are so productive, so civilized, can't possibly be that dangerous, can they?

"Yeah, okay, let's go back to camp and not tell Dez. That way, he'll think I'm dead when he calls for me! That'll be fun!" she hears from behind them. She starts and whips around to find a boy with red hair and piercing blue eyes. "Who's the chick?"

"Sorry, buddy," Austin says next to her. "This is…" he trails off.

"Ally," she finishes.

"Right. Ally. Anyway, I just saved her from a bear, and she's been out here alone for three years. I had to get her back here."

"Alright, fair enough. Nice to meet you, Ally," the redhead says. "I'm Dez."

Ally looks at what the boy is wearing and recognizes a pair of green tights she overheard someone telling her mother were stolen from the carriage that was supposed to be delivering them. Over the tights he's wearing shorts of the same color, and his shirt and hat look the same.

She looks up at Austin.

"Yeah, I can't really say much about that one," he says.

"What?" Dez asks.

"You look like Peter Pan," Ally tells him.

"Thank you. But I can't fly."

"That's okay," she replies.

"Hey Dez, will you get everyone on the north side over to the common area so I can introduce Ally?" Austin asks.

"On it," Dez replies. With that, he races off across the bridge.

"I'll give you a tour in a bit," Austin tells her. "But that was Dez. He's my best friend."

She didn't know Austin Moon was capable of having a best friend, considering he's supposedly a heartless thief and supposed killer (though she's never heard of anyone specific that he's killed).

"Oh. He seems nice," Ally says.

"He can be a little eccentric. You'll get used to him."

Austin leads her over to a clear area in the shade and tells her to wait while he gathers everyone on this side, but most of them are already crowding around her, curious as to who this new face is.

Dez walks back over the bridge with five people trailing behind him, and they stop in front of Ally. She's a little intimidated by all these outlaws, but the only one who doesn't have a warm, welcoming look on their face is Austin, who joins her again in front of all the people.

"Hey, guys," Austin says. "I just wanted to introduce you to the newest member of our group. This is Ally. She's nineteen and she's been alone out here since she was sixteen. Play nice."

"I got dibs!" she hears a guy yell from the back.

"Also, she's under my protection and if any of you perverted idiots make a move on her or make her uncomfortable in any way, there are a wide selection of weapons I am going to maim you with. Am I clear?" Austin adds coldly. She hears everyone mutter an affirmative. "Alright, get back to work."

Everyone disperses in six seconds flat. Ally's slightly surprised at how orderly and efficiently they move.

"I'll introduce everyone as we run into them," Austin says, starting to walk. Ally follows him wordlessly as he makes his way across the bridge.

"So, this is the north side of camp," he says. "That's the south side." He points to the other side of the creek. "This is the fire pit. We do some cooking over it, but mainly we just chill here at night before bed." He walks over to the tables, where Dez seems to be cleaning the weapons. "These are where we keep our spare weapons, but we all have our own at home. And you already know Dez."

Dez stops his cleaning and waves at Ally. She smiles a bit and waves back.

Austin leads Ally over to the fruit trees.

"This is the fruit orchard. We got pretty lucky when we found this place; they were already full grown when we got here. There are apples, oranges, lemons, and grapefruits."

"Yum," Ally says. Austin nods in agreement.

"That's Jace, Carrie, and Piper," he says, pointing to a dark haired boy, a tall blonde girl with curly hair, and then a shorter blonde girl with straight hair. "Carrie and Piper are sisters, and Dez is Carrie's boyfriend."

Ally nods and Austin points to the clearing beyond the fire pit.

"That's just a random clear area where we do stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Training, mostly. Sometimes we have random games or whatever after dinner. That's where you and I are gonna be spending a lot of time the next few days."

"Why?" Ally asks.

"I'm assuming that your knife is all you've got, which means you don't know how to use _real_ weapons. So I'm gonna train you."

"But I'm a lady."

His eyes flit down and then back up.

"I know."

"Why do you wanna train me with weapons?"

"Because you need to know how to use them. I don't care if you're a girl, a guy, or something in between. You gotta help hunt, and if anything you have to know how to defend yourself. You think the knights will care if you're a 'lady' if they see you? They won't. Anyone who isn't in the kingdom, they'll try to capture or kill."

She thinks back to a memory from when she was younger.

* * *

 _She sees some kids her age playing with wooden swords and spears outside the castle. She's about to go join them, but her mother stops her._

 _"Where do you think you're going?"_

 _"To play."_

 _"Not with those kids, you're not," her mother says. "Ladies don't touch weapons."_

 _"But there are girls out there!" Ally exclaims._

 _"A lady never raises her voice. And those girls are not_ ladies _, Alison. They're peasant girls."_

 _"Why can't I go play with them?" Ally whines._

 _"Don't whine, Alison. It's not ladylike."_

 _"You didn't answer me."_

 _"Because you are a lady. Now come with me. It's time for etiquette lessons."_

* * *

Ally can't help but smile at the thought of getting the last laugh. And she's kind of really wanted to learn how to use a sword ever since that day.

"Okay," she says to Austin.

"You still have the belief system of the kingdom, I get it. How you didn't go insane in three years of solitude, I don't get. Anyway, c'mon," he says.

They walk back across the bridge to the south side of camp.

"So, that's the all-purpose table, I dunno," Austin says, pointing to said table. "We eat on it, usually, and I hold meetings there. Sometimes Dez dances on it, I don't…" He shakes his head and leads her to the kitchen. "This is the kitchen and our resident cook, Chuck. He makes a _mean_ chili."

Ally waves at Chuck, who gives her a polite hello.

"For the most part, we switch around jobs every day in a cycle, but Chuck's the only one who can cook, so we don't mess with that."

They walk over to the little work stations and Austin introduces the people and jobs as they go. Ally loses track of it all until the last one, where a short, black haired girl is sleeping in her chair.

"This is the laziest, sassiest, bossiest person you will ever meet. But she's cool. And she's my second-in-command. Trish, _wake up_!"

Ally finds it kind of odd that Austin would have a girl as his second-in-command. After all, ladies are to be seen and not heard.

The girl opens her eyes to glare at Austin.

"I was taking my break!"

"How many blankets have you even finished sewing today?" Austin asks.

"Three…"

Austin rolls his eyes.

"You better not do this when you're hunting."

"Oh, never," Trish says. "Hi, Ally."

"Hi," Ally replies with a wave.

"Keep working, Trish. No more naps until you're done."

"Yeah, yeah," Trish says. But she gets back to work.

Austin points to the tarp and confirms Ally's assumptions that it's where they keep all their supplies. Then, he leads her deep into the tiny forest of trees.

"We hide the ladder so it's hard for enemies to find," Austin explains.

He stops at a seemingly random tree, but then Ally notices the small rectangles of wood nailed to it with tiny, sharp rocks. He starts climbing them, and she follows.

Austin leads her over the bridges, pointing out everyone's treehouses. Once he gets through everyone else, he stops at two on the end.

"This one's mine," he says, pointing. "And this one's yours. We built a couple extra just in case. I'm glad it was for a reason. You can go put your stuff down. Sleep if you want; you look tired. It's a lot to take in, I know."

Ally nods.

"Thank you," she says. "For helping me out earlier-even though I _so_ would've been okay."

Austin lets out a slight chuckle at that.

"And for, um, taking me in and stuff. I don't know how much longer I would've been able to stand being alone."

"No problem," Austin replies. "This is your home now."

Ally smiles slightly and thanks him once more before walking into her treehouse.

It isn't very big, but she won't really be spending much time in here. There's a small bed in the corner. It looks like they made it, but it's made well. Next to the bed is a small table, and against the opposite wall is a little dresser. Ally empties her belongings into some of the drawers, deciding to keep everything except the food, which she elects to ask Austin what to do with after a short nap.

She lies down on the bed and decided that it's far comfier than the ground. She falls asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow.

* * *

 **don't worry about the minor characters. they aren't important to the plot or anything and other than being mentioned for shifts or whatever, that's probably the only time they'll even be brought up in the story. anyway, I hope you liked the chapter and it'd be lovely if you reviewed :)**


	3. Chapter 3

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead," a slightly familiar voice brings Ally out of her slumber. She opens her eyes and sees Trish looking down at her. "I tried to wake you up for dinner last night but you were passed out. Good morning."

"Morning," Ally says sleepily. "What time is it?"

"Breakfast time. C'mon, or all the good stuff'll be gone."

With that, Trish walks out of the treehouse. Ally sits up and stretches, looking out her small window at the outlaws bustling below her.

Well, she survived a restful night without one of them (cough Austin cough) killing her, so that's a good start to her new life.

She grabs her bag, which is still full of the food she brought, and walks out of the treehouse. Unfortunately, she gets kind of lost in the forest and it takes her a while to find her way out.

"There you are," Trish says when Ally approaches her at the table. "I was getting worried."

"Here I am," Ally says. "Um, where do I sit?"

"Oh, I think Austin went to grab you a chair. There he is," Trish replies, looking at someone behind Ally. She turns to see Austin walking over with two chairs in hand.

"Good morning," Ally says politely.

"Yeah, whatever." He sets the chairs down. "I'll be back." And then he walks away.

"He's not a morning person," Trish explains as Ally sits next to her. "Or a nice person in general."

"He seemed nice to me," Ally says.

"He sympathizes with people, doesn't like anyone being alone and doesn't want anyone in danger. He _cares_ about people, but he isn't very nice."

"That doesn't make much sense."

"It will," Trish promises. "Now, let's eat."

Ally looks at all the people at the table already taking food from the big plates and bowls in the middle and talking. She looks for the silverware, only to realize there isn't any. Everyone's eating with their hands and slouching over and resting their elbows at the table and talking over each other and laughing loudly and it's one of the most beautiful things Ally's ever seen. She grins and reaches over to grab an orange and starts peeling it.

Austin comes back a few minutes later and sits down next to Ally. He grabs a piece of some sort of jerky and starts munching on it.

"How are you, sunshine?" Trish asks sarcastically.

"Oh, I'm fantastic," he says, rolling his eyes. "Ally, you start your training today."

"With the weapons and stuff?" she asks.

Trish snorts and covers her mouth.

"Weapons and stuff. You are just the cutest, aren't you?" she says.

"Yeah, with the weapons and stuff," Austin says, slightly amused.

Ally blushes and looks down at her lap.

"How old did you say you were? Nineteen?" Trish asks her. Ally nods. "Aw, you're practically still a baby!"

"Well, how old are you?" Ally snaps, disliking the condescending voice Trish is using.

"Twenty-four."

"Older than Austin?"

"Yep."

"Age doesn't matter, though," Austin interjects. "Clearly you're the real deal, even if your way of living has been different than ours. Trish just likes feeling better than people."

"I do," Trish admits.

"Anyway, once we're done with breakfast we'll head over, okay?" Austin says.

"Okay," Ally replies with a nod.

"So," Austin says, addressing everyone at the table, "I'm holding a meeting after lunch. I want everyone present, except obviously the hunters."

"Why is it always when _we're_ gone?" the boy Ally recognizes as Jace complains.

"Yeah! If this is like that time you all pretended you got attacked, I'm gonna beat you up," Piper adds. "I dunno what you guys have against me and Jace."

Austin rolls his eyes and sighs exasperatedly.

"Calm down, okay? We're talking about our next raid. We'll fill you in tonight. Now go, you're losing sunlight," he says.

Both Piper and Jace roll their eyes and get up from the table, picking up their weapons from the ground and walking out to the woods through the tunnel.

"You done eating?" Austin asks Ally. She swallows her last orange wedge and nods. "Alright, then let's go."

"Why does _you_ get out of work to train her?" Dez whines.

"Because _I'm_ the leader," Austin replies, mocking his friend's tone. He leads Ally away from the table, leaving Dez grumbling in annoyance.

Ally follows the blonde boy over the bridge and to the weapon tables. She looks at him, not saying anything for fear that he'll laugh at her like Trish did.

"So, you're gonna need a bow, a quiver, and some arrows," Austin says, handing her the items as he lists them. She tries to balance the pile in her arms as he continues speaking. "I think we'll just start with this today so you can do some target practice on your own while I work, and then I'll teach you swordplay later."

"Okay," she says, unsure of how else to reply.

"C'mon," Austin says. He leads her to the clearing and stops in the middle, facing her.

"So, bow, arrows, quiver," he lists again, taking each item out of Ally's hands. "Your quiver is what holds your arrows, and it goes around you like this." He gently places the brown leather contraption over Ally's shoulder and under her opposite arm, like one of the dreadful sashes her mother used to make her wear. He places the arrows inside the quiver and then continues. "So you can just reach behind you and have easy access to the arrows."

Ally attempts to reach her arm behind her to grab an arrow, but fails miserably. The boy raises his eyebrows in amusement.

"Try using your other arm, and go over your shoulder instead of around your back. Like this." He reaches his arm over his shoulder and pretends to grab an arrow.

Ally turns bright red. She's smarter than this. It should've been common sense, really, with the way he put the quiver on her. All of this is just so new, she's struggling to take it all in. So she takes a deep breath and mimics his action, managing to pull an arrow out of the quiver.

"There you go," Austin says.

"So…now what?" Ally asks.

"Shoot, I should probably have my stuff to show you with. Stay here." With that, Austin jogs off across the bridge to get his things.

Ally stays put, staring at her bow. _Her_ bow. She's one of these people now, an outlaw. She has grown up all her life fearing them, and now she's _one_ of them. But they have it better than she ever did. They have to work for what they want. They get to spend their time outdoors. They get to build friendships and bonds that, as a princess, she's never had time for because of all her responsibilities.

The bow feels good in her hand, the wood warmed by the sun. She tries to imagine herself as some fierce warrior, shooting arrows left and right and never missing. She chuckles at how ridiculous it seems. But that will be her life soon enough, and one day she won't be singled out among the group. She'll just be another outlaw in this band of criminals, and she can't wait.

Soon enough, Austin comes jogging back with a quiver full of arrows slung around his torso and a bow in his hand. He looks big and slightly intimidating, maybe even more so than when she first met him.

"Okay, I'm back," he says, coming to a stop next to her. "So, you nock your arrow by taking this little groove and snapping it onto the bowstring, like this."

The boy tilts his bow to demonstrate, and Ally copies him silently.

"Alright, then, you hold the bowstring with your index finger right above the arrow, and your middle and ring finger right under it," he continues, watching Ally as she tries to mimic what he's doing. "No, no, not with your pinky. Here."

He moves her fingers to the proper position, and then nods in satisfaction.

"Alright, then you lift your bow, pull back the bowstring, aim, and let it go," he finishes, shooting an arrow that flies with crazy accuracy to hit a small piece of wood set up on the ground. "You try."

Ally swallows and lifts her bow, but when she tries pulling back the string, she finds herself unable to pull it back more than a few centimeters.

"You'll get stronger," Austin tells her. "You just have to keep at it."

"What do I do for now?"

Austin purses his lips for a second, then sets down his bow. He walks around to stand behind her, and her heart speeds up when she feels her back pressed up against him. She doesn't like this intimacy. At all. She's scared and intimidated and quite frankly she'd like to run and hide.

The boy places his hands on top of hers and she starts getting _really_ uncomfortable. He guides her hands to pull the string back and aim, and then he lets go of the string to send the arrow flying. It, too, manages to hit its target.

Austin then lets her go and steps away, and Ally can breathe again. She opens her mouth to ask him to please never do that again, but then closes it. _Ladies are seen and not heard. Ladies do what they're told without question. Ladies are submissive._

"You okay?" Austin asks her.

She nods silently, pressing her lips together.

"You were gonna say something. What's up?"

She can't say it. Not while he's looking at her with those cold eyes that could easily turn angry. She doesn't fully trust him yet, and after him loaning her his strength to shoot the arrow, she knows he's strong enough to hurt her if he wanted to.

"It's nothing," she says quietly.

"It isn't nothing. You look like you're gonna be sick."

"I just…um…well, the closeness, it-uh," she stutters.

"Oh, did that make you uncomfortable?" he asks.

She nods, looking down and bracing herself for the yelling that is about to occur.

"I'm sorry," he says. She looks up at him. "You could've just told me. I don't wanna make you uncomfortable or intimidated or anything. If that isn't your thing, we'll find another way to help you practice, okay?"

Well, that was unexpected. She wonders how he can be so nice and caring and speak so gently when his eyes are still as cold as ice.

"Okay," she says quietly.

"For now, why don't you keep trying to pull that bowstring back without the arrow? We'll have to build your strength before focusing on anything else."

Ally nods and watches Austin walk off to go retrieve their arrows.

When he gets back, he tells her that he's going to go work since he can't do much to help her at this point and that he'll come get her for lunch. Once he leaves, she sets her jaw and starts trying with all her might to get that stupid bowstring to do her bidding.

* * *

"Come on," she whines to no one after hours of attempting to pull back the bowstring with no success. "You're an inanimate object! You can't get the better of me!"

She pulls and pulls but her strength (or lack of it) just isn't enough. She groans in frustration and runs a hand through her already messy hair.

"Why won't you just do what I tell you?!" she exclaims.

"Maybe because it can't hear you," she hears an amused voice behind her. She whips around and faces Austin, who's watching her with his eyebrows raised and a slight smirk gracing his lips.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asks him.

"Long enough. C'mon, you need a break. And some food." She sighs in relief and starts following him, but he stops her. "Leave the stuff."

She takes off the quiver and sets the bow down in the grass, and then catches up with Austin as they walk to the table.

"So, not much success, huh?" he asks.

"No," she sighs, running a hand through her hair yet again. "I just don't get it. Am I really that weak?"

"Maybe in a physical aspect, yes. But I've known you for about two days, and already I know you're headstrong. Determination and stubbornness can be just as powerful as physical strength, if you can channel them right."

"Yes, because if I'm _determined_ enough, I'll magically get the strength to pull back that stupid string."

"No, if you're determined enough, you'll _work_ at it to _build_ the strength to pull back that stupid string," he corrects her. "You determined enough?"

"You knew I was headstrong within five minutes of knowing me," she replies.

"Nah, I knew you were too proud for your own good within five minutes of knowing you. I knew you were headstrong within six."

Ally laughs, and she wonders what Trish could've meant about Austin not being nice. He seems nice enough to her, but perhaps that's just the relief of seeing a new face after so many years with the same people. Soon enough, he'll probably bark orders at her just like the rest of them. But for now, she's enjoying this special treatment he's giving her. And if the way he acts around her compared to the way he acts around everyone else is anything to go by, she'd like to think that he's enjoying being around her, too.

But that coldness still never leaves his eyes. It makes her uneasy, no matter how much she tries to suppress the feeling.

"You'll get it eventually," Austin tells her.

"You think so?"

"Hey, if some of these idiots can get the hang of it, so can you."

She smiles a bit, and neither of them says another word until they arrive at the table.

After lunch, everyone helps to clear away the food from the table before gathering around it once again.

"So, our next raid," Austin starts. A few people pound the table in excitement. "We need to know what we're looking for."

"Is Ally coming?" someone asks. Ally looks up from her lap at the sound of her name.

"If she wants," Austin says, too quickly. "Anyway, we don't want a repeat of what happened last time, so we're gonna need a new approach. We need to be more discreet. Going at night has been working, but the cover of darkness does nothing for us if we're loud and boisterous about getting into the place. So, any ideas?"

Silence.

"This is off to a great start," the boy says. "I guess we'll move on. But if you think of anything, let me know.

"The knights have been searching for us for years. We all know that. But the more time that passes, the closer they get to finding us. We're all trained in hunting, of course, but I feel as though we need to brush up on our skills of defending ourselves. It's only a matter of time before they come attack, and the advantages we've come up with for ourselves will mean nothing if we can't use them.

"I want us to start training-individually, or maybe in pairs-specifically of self-defense. It's one thing to use our weapons on animals that we're trying to kill. Protecting ourselves from other humans is a different story. We'll figure out details later, but I wanted to know what you thought."

"I think it's a great idea," Trish says. The rest of the group nods and expresses their agreement.

Ally opens her mouth to speak, then closes it again, her mother's words ringing in her head for the second time today. _Ladies are seen and not heard. Ladies are seen and not heard. Ladies are seen and not heard._

"Ally, were you gonna say something?" Dez asks, seeming to be the only one who noticed her about to speak.

All eyes turn to her.

"Well," she begins shyly, "it isn't so much about-"

"You can speak up a little," Carrie says. "We won't bite. Promise."

"Right, sorry," Ally starts again. "I was just thinking. It's probably ridiculous. But Austin was talking about advantages you would have over attackers, and the treehouses and weapons at the ready are great because you'd have the higher ground, making it easier for you to hit them and harder for them to hit you. But you live in trees, and from what I've seen, people are starting to realize that arson is a successful offense tactic." She mentally pats herself on the back for coming up with the lie of how she received the information on the spot. "And, well, you guys- _we_ , sorry-we live in trees. And trees are easy to set on fire. I'm not sure if there's already some sort of defense set up for that already, but if there isn't I think that maybe something to prevent a successful attack that way should be considered."

Everyone stares at her, blinking a few times. She realized that this is the most she's said to any of them since she got here, except maybe Austin. But even he is looking at her in shock. She looks around at everyone, awaiting their reactions.

"We actually hadn't considered that," Trish says, shaking off her shock first. "Do you have any suggestions on how we could set up some sort of defense against fires?"

"Actually, I do," Ally replies, pushing some hair behind her ear and getting a bit shy again. Last time she attempted to pitch this idea, she had gotten shot down before she could even say what she was thinking. "You see, there's a certain plant that grows in the castle garden that produces a nonflammable wax-type substance. If we crushed up this plant and added a bit of water, we could make a sort of paste that we could put anywhere, really, to protect from fires. And if we could get any seeds for these plants at this raid, we could maybe grow some here, so we'd be able to make as much as we needed."

She finishes speaking, and everyone is silent. Well, almost everyone.

"Huh," Austin mutters under his breath. "Plenty smart, indeed."

"Also, um, while I have your attention," she continues, remembering Austin's earlier topic, "you were asking about different ways to enter the castle discreetly. I was friends with someone who lived there when I was little, _years_ before I ran away, but she showed me some hidden underground tunnels. The Royals and anyone else living there are meant to use them in case they have to evacuate, but we can still use them to get in."

Ally watches as the looks everyone is giving her slowly change. Their stares go from those of shock, to those of respect, to those of gratitude. These outlaws, who have hardly known her for two days and are _way_ better at managing to survive out here than she may ever be, are _grateful_ for her. She tries not to swell with pride; she's never had anyone appreciate her ideas before.

"That's…wow, where have you been the past nine years?" Austin jokes. She blushes and looks down at her lap while everyone else laughs good-naturedly. "Do you remember where the entrance to the tunnels is, and what this plant of yours looks like?" he asks.

She nods confidently. "Yes."

"Excellent. Well, everyone, we should start planning for the raid, then. Two weeks?"

Everyone nods in agreement, excited smiles on their faces.

* * *

After a long day, everyone sits around the fire pit as the sun sets. A large bonfire has been lit, and Ally looks around at all the faces illuminated by the firelight. Everyone looks happy, carefree, and if the circumstances were different, she could see this band of young adults as just another group of friends hanging out on a random summer night.

She's seated in a chair in between Austin and Dez, and she notices everyone looking in her direction from time to time, as if to make sure she's enjoying herself. And she is. She's smiling and laughing with the rest of them, and for the first time she actually _feels_ like one of them. It's nice.

All eyes are on Trish as she tells an animated story that was supposed to be scary, but ended up turning into one long string of hilariously unfortunate events for the main character. Everyone is laughing their heads off, even Austin. And as Ally watches him, she could swear she sees a hint of warmth in his eyes lit up by the fire. They look lighter, brighter, not as cold and dark. She takes in his easy smile and musical laughter and can't help but smile herself.

Austin isn't truly happy often. Judging from what Trish told her this morning and what she's picked up on her own, that is a true fact. He can joke, be amused, even smile as much as he wants. But _actual_ happiness doesn't come to him often. Looking at him now, she knows that this is one of the rare occasions where he really _is_ happy. And when this boy is happy, that happiness is contagious. It radiates off him, as though he's somehow transformed it into pure sunlight, and warms everyone around him. She wonders if he was ever like this all the time.

All too soon, the festivities at the bonfire are over. Jace and Chuck put it out with water, and the group starts making their way back to the treehouses. Ally falls into step beside Austin.

"So, what do you guys call this place?" she asks with a sleepy yawn.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, surely you've got a name for this camp of yours. It's like your own little city."

"A name?" Austin asks.

"Yeah. Like, other than 'camp'. What do you call it?"

The blonde boy doesn't miss a beat. "Home."

Looking around this beautiful place that somehow these incredible people have managed to create for themselves, Ally smiles to herself. After tonight, it's starting to look like home to her, too.

* * *

 **I hope you liked the chapter, and reviews are almost as wonderful as you. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Ally spends the next few days shadowing Austin and Trish at whatever jobs they're doing and using all of her free time in the clearing with her bow and arrows.

Trish comes by to watch her sometimes, and while Ally appreciates the girl coming to support her in her struggles, she does _not_ appreciate the random orders to drop and give Trish twenty push-ups. Especially because Ally can't even do one without help.

Apparently Trish decided that the push-ups were helping (Ally has no idea why she would think that) because Austin has started asking for push-ups, too. And Ally just has to clench her teeth and focus on bending and straightening her arms while the boy's hands are on her waist to help her out.

Austin apologizes every time, and asks her if she's okay at least five times during every set of push-ups she does, but it doesn't make her feel much more comfortable with his hands on her. He says it'll help with her strength, and she believes him, so she deals with the discomfort. If he's right, she won't need him to help her much longer.

"You're doing great," Austin tells her one day as she lays in the grass and catches her breath.

"Yeah? I can't even do twenty push-ups without help, and even _with_ help I can hardly breathe after."

"Well, I'm not having to help you as much as I did before."

"It hasn't been long." But she knows he's right. At first, his grip on her had to be tight so he could do most of the work holding her up as she did the push-ups, but now his grip is gentle. Of course, the more she does in a row, the tighter he has to hold her as she gets tired, but she does feel herself getting stronger.

"Still," he says. "Here, drink some water."

He hands her a canteen and she takes it gratefully, drinking almost the entire thing. The water isn't cold like it would've been at the castle, but it's cool enough to be relieving.

"Thanks," she says, handing it back to him.

"I You know, you don't have to be able to do all twenty alone to be able to shoot," Austin reminds her.

"Right."

"Wanna try again?"

"My arms feel like jelly," she tells him.

"Alright, maybe not," Austin says.

"Oh, by the way, I, uh, stole some food from the castle a couple weeks ago, and I have some left. It's in here." She hands him her bag, and he looks inside it.

"Thanks," he says. "I'll go take this to Chuck, and when I get back you're trying again."

"Okay."

She watches him get up and walk away, and then she sighs and lays back down in the grass, staring up at the sky. She looks at the clouds and makes out shapes with them in her mind. Back at the castle, she didn't get to go outside much. Between her regular tutoring, etiquette lessons, and chores, she hardly had time for anything else. But now she spends _all_ her time outside. And she loves it.

"Alright, get up. Time for you to pull back that dumb string," Austin says, jogging back over.

She looks up at him, not moving from her position. "Yeah, about that…I've decided that bows don't like me and I am never gonna be able to pull back that string."

"Not with that attitude you're not. C'mon." He holds out his hand to help her up and she takes it. He hands her the bow.

"Austin, I don't understand what makes you think I'm magically gonna be able to do it now."

"You're gonna be able to do it."

"What makes you think that?"

"You don't have to be _that_ strong. C'mon, just humor me. Try it."

She rolls her eyes and tries pulling back the string. Surprise, surprise: she actually manages to pull it back this time.

"See?" Austin says.

Ally turns to him, grinning. "I did it!" she exclaims.

"I told you so. Now let's see if you can shoot. You remember how to nock an arrow?"

She nods, still smiling, and does what Austin taught her.

"Good. Now try to shoot that piece of wood over there." He points to her target, which is hanging from a tree by a vine.

"Okay."

She pulls back the arrow (because she can do that now, cue the excited grin) and aims. Then she lets the arrow fly.

It starts out well, and she thinks she might actually hit the target, but then it falls just short. Ally huffs and stomps her foot.

"That wasn't bad," Austin says. "Really, it wasn't. Try aiming a little higher next time."

He hands her another arrow, and she nocks it. Once again, she shoots the arrow and it misses its mark.

"Great. I can pull back the string but I can't aim!"

"Hey, it'll take some practice, but you aren't bad, honest. No one's perfect on their first try."

"I bet you were," she mutters, kicking a pebble by her feet.

"Not even I was," he says, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Whatever."

"Keep practicing, okay? I gotta go do some work, but I'll catch up with you later."

"Yeah, yeah," she says. "Not like I'm gonna make any progress."

"Hey, what happened to the headstrong, determined Ally I know?"

Ally shrugs. "I don't know."

"Well, find her. I expect you to have hit that target at least once before the end of the day."

"Austin, that's-"

"Not going to be a problem because you're determined enough to do it."

She huffs and glares at him, and he just smirks at her.

"Good luck, Ally," he says. And then he walks away.

She clenches her jaw and looks at the target again, nocking another arrow. She shoots it, and it misses. Again.

This is gonna be a long day.

* * *

"Ally, let's go to dinner," Trish says, watching Ally try to hit the stupid target.

"Not till I hit this," Ally says, shooting and missing yet again.

"You didn't come to lunch. C'mon, you need a break."

"Austin brought me food. I'm fine," she argues, nocking another arrow.

"Ally-"

"He wants me to hit the target by the end of the day, and I'm gonna do it. The sun is setting, and once I'm out of light, there's no way I'll be able to hit the target. Just save me some food and I'll eat it at the bonfire," she says.

"Fine, fine," Trish relents. "But Austin was kidding about that, you know."

"So he doesn't think I could do it?"

"I didn't say that-"

"But you implied it," Ally interrupts. "Now I have to do it."

"You like contradicting people and proving people wrong, don't you?"

"Yes. Goodbye." She turns back to her arrows and hears Trish sigh and walk away.

She shoots as many arrows as she can before the sun sets, and it isn't until she's using the very last strip of sunlight before the camp is plunged in darkness that she finally manages to hit the target. Granted, she hits the piece of wood nowhere close to the middle, but she does hit it, and she lets out a squeal of delight.

Thirty seconds later, she sees Austin running over.

"Are you okay?!" he exclaims, out of breath.

"I hit the target!" she tells him.

The blonde boy exhales and runs a hand down his face, bending over and resting his hands on his knees.

"You screamed. I thought…" He trails off. "Anyway, good job."

"You said you expected me to hit it before the end of the day?"

"Did I?" he asks, still catching his breath. "Oh yeah, I did. Well, you met my expectations."

"You didn't actually think I could do it, did you?"

"I didn't say that at all."

"You thought it."

"No I-"

"Well, you were wrong," Ally continues. "I hit that target and I pulled back the bowstring even though I'm young and a lady and nothing you think about me is going to stop me."

"Okay, what is it with you and all this crap about me judging you for being a _'lady'_?"

"Nothing. My point is, everything you think about me is wrong. You think I'm some young, naïve little girl who can't do anything, but in reality, I'm-"

"You wanna know what I think?" Austin asks, obviously trying too hard to stay calm. "I think you _are_ young, and you _are_ naïve, and that you don't really listen to anyone if you don't think they're saying anything that's important. But I have told you that I think you are determined and strong and a huge asset to our group. I think that you have the potential to be one of the greatest outlaws of all time, and that you have just enough persistence to do it. I think that you can do anything you put your mind to because you are not the type to give up. You _are_ the type, however, to care too much what other people think. You are a follower, which is strange for someone who's lived alone for so long. You don't have as much knowledge about the world as you should, and that makes you vulnerable and quite frankly an easy target for your enemies. You're afraid to speak your mind, but you're too proud to do what other people tell you to do. You refuse to admit defeat. You are immature and childish, but you don't appreciate being treated like so. You have a lot of work to do, but I know you're going to do it, because you want to be great. _That's_ what I think of you."

"It sure sounds like you hate me," she says.

"I don't hate you!" he exclaims, finally losing his patience. She sees his cold eyes swirling with anger in the moonlight.

"Then why are you saying I'm all those things?!" she shouts back, using her frustration to mask her fear.

"Because they're true!"

"No they're not!"

"You're just proving me right, you brat!"

"I hate you!" she screams.

Something in his eyes changes and quick as lightning he's whipped out his sword and pushed her against the wall, holding the blade to her neck. She swallows and lifts her chin slightly, trying not to touch the sword. She knows her eyes are wide with fear, but she tries her best to hide it and glare at him instead.

"You hate me?" he asks through gritted teeth, his voice deadly calm now.

He presses himself and the sword closer to her, so she feels the edge beginning to dig into her skin. She also feels his body pressed too close against hers. Now she's both scared _and_ uncomfortable. Her breathing picks up.

"I could've let you die out there, Ally. I could've let that bear maul you and I could've left you there to bleed to death. But I killed the dumb thing to save _your_ life. I know you couldn't have saved yourself; you were so terrified you couldn't move. I took you in, gave you a home and a new family, and you repay me by _hating_ me?"

She swallows again as he presses the blade even closer, and she shuts her eyes at the pain of the sharp sword.

"You're defenseless right now. You're terrified. You _should_ be terrified. I could end your life right here, right now."

She feels blood starting to trickle down her neck as she tries not to cry. She purses her lips and lifts her chin, trying to ease the pain of the sword still cutting into her.

"You do _not_ want to get on my bad side, darling. I told you the _truth_ about what I think of you. And the only people who tell you the truth are those who care enough to want you to be better. I want you to reach your full potential, Ally. But you're too proud to believe that you have anything to improve on except your strength and hunting skills."

She inhales shakily and opens her mouth to speak, which proves to be a bad idea. Austin presses the blade deeper, drawing more blood and causing more pain.

"I am not going to kill you, Ally. And as long as you do as I say and don't argue about stupid things, you have no reason to be afraid of me. I am not going to ask you to do anything you're not comfortable with, and if I do you can tell me without being scared. But what you _cannot_ do is tell me you hate me. I have done too much for you for you to say that and mean it. Am I understood?"

She doesn't move, and he pulls the blade away enough for her to nod her head without getting any further injury. He pulls away completely and steps back, but she stays still, not opening her eyes.

She feels the warm blood running down her neck slowly, the pain of the large cut he gave her like fire. She knows it isn't deep and won't cause her pain for much longer, but for right now it's all she can do not to cry.

She hears his steady, quiet breathing as he waits for her. She slowly opens her eyes to look at him, and what she sees surprises her.

He looks apologetic, guilty. His hair shines in the moonlight, and his eyes are still swirling, but the anger is gone. He stares at her for a while, and she stares back.

And then she does something that surprises both of them. She lurches forward and hugs him, burying her face in his hard chest. She feels his heart beating, feels it skip at his surprise. But he slowly wraps his arms around her as well, and for once she isn't uncomfortable. And surprisingly, she isn't scared anymore, either.

She lets the tears that she's been trying so hard to push back escape her eyes. He rubs her back and lets her cry without saying anything, and she's grateful for it.

When she calms down enough, she whispers, "Thank you." She isn't sure he even heard it.

But then he says "For what?" in one of the most confused voices she's ever heard, and she doesn't blame him.

"For caring enough to tell me the truth, for wanting me to be better, for believing in me."

"You're welcome," he replies quietly.

"I don't hate you. I'm sorry."

"I know. It's okay. I'm sorry, too."

"It's okay."

She pulls away, and he looks at her.

"Come with me."

She follows him across the bridge to the supply tent, and as they leave she notices out of her peripheral that everyone had been watching them during their quarrel.

Austin grabs a cotton swab and a bottle of disinfectant from the supplies, as well as a bandage. He leads her to the table and sits her on top of it, and then says, "This may sting."

She closes her eyes as he applies the cotton swab with the disinfectant on her wound. She grits her teeth and inhales at the fire exploding on her neck, but she makes no sound.

As soon as it started, it's over, and Austin's putting the bandage on the cut.

"There," he says. "Better?"

She tries to nod, but it proves to be a bit awkward with the bandage.

"Yes. Thank you," she says quietly.

He helps her down from the table and they walk over to the bonfire together. Everyone is staring at Austin in shock as he takes his seat next to Ally. Trish is on the other side of her, and she hands her a scone that she recognizes as something she took when she ran away.

"Saved this for you. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she says, taking the scone. "Thank you."

"Mmhm. Did you hit the target?"

"Yes I did."

"Good job," Trish says with a smile. "I knew you could do it."

Ally glances at Austin, who's staring at the fire.

"Me, too."

* * *

 **wow, things got a lil intense. hope you liked the chapter. please review :)**


	5. Chapter 5

"How's it coming?" she recognizes Austin's voice from behind her. She lets another arrow fly and it hits the small target, still way off to the side. They haven't spoken since last night, and she's a bit hesitant to talk to him now.

"It's…coming," she replies, relaxing her arms and wiping the sweat from her forehead. She squints in the bright morning sunlight and runs a hand through her hair.

"You'll just keep getting better," Austin promises. "How's your neck?"

"Doesn't hurt anymore. We should probably change the bandage, though." She lifts her chin to show him the bloody bandage on the wound. Austin grimaces.

"Yikes. Yeah, we better. Sorry. Again."

"Yeah," she replies, not wishing to talk about what happened last night. After that, her fear of him is renewed. She was glad to be over it, but after being so defenseless against his wrath last night and after him _actually_ hurting her, she can't help but be afraid of him again. Who knows what he could do if she makes him angry again? He has the strength, the power, and the mind to kill her if he wants to. Despite what Trish said about him caring about people, she can't really imagine him feeling much guilt if he kills her, especially not if she makes him angry before he does it.

He told her she shouldn't be afraid of him, but how can he blame her?

"Do you wanna take a break and go now?"

"Uh…sure," she replies.

She sets her things down and follows him across the bridge. He walks over to the supply tent and she sits on the table to wait for him. He comes back and looks down at her, and her breath hitches at how close he is. Technically, he isn't as close as he's been before, but all she can think about is last night.

She lifts her chin and shuts her eyes as he gently removes the old bandage from her neck. It doesn't hurt, but she almost wishes it did. Then at least she'd have something to focus on other than Austin's close proximity and how afraid she is.

"I'm gonna clean it again," he tells her, "so brace yourself."

She grips on the edge of the table as the cleaning solution comes into contact with her wound, although she welcomes the painful stinging sensation, almost relieved.

But then he's done cleaning it and he's placing a new bandage on her neck. She opens her eyes to look at him.

"Better?" She nods. "Good. The cut really isn't that deep. It's already starting to scab over."

 _I don't care how deep it is. I just care that you're the one who made the cut._

"That's good, I guess," she says, pushing her thoughts away.

"Yeah. So, I need you to do something for me."

"What makes you think I'll-" she starts out of habit. But she immediately cuts herself off when she remembers what this boy could do if she argues.

"I need you to show me where the entrance to that secret tunnel is, and I need you to show me what that plant of yours looks like."

"In order to do that, we'd need to get to the castle gardens," she tells him.

"I can get you there."

"Safely?"

"Relatively."

"That doesn't sound promising."

"You'll be fine."

"But-"

"Don't argue about stupid things, remember?"

Ally purses her lips and silences herself, and she watches Austin nod and walk off.

She doesn't move from her position, and when he comes back she sees that he's carrying a bag over his shoulder and an extra set of bow and arrows. He hands the weapons to her.

She looks at them, then up at him.

"You don't expect me to actually use these, do you?"

"If we get into a situation, then yes. But we won't. Just precautions."

"What's in the bag?"

"Food and water. I dunno how long this'll take."

"Oh."

"Shall we go, then?" he asks her.

She's about to object. She doesn't really like the idea of being alone with him in the wilderness where nobody can hear her scream for help. But she agreed not to argue about anything, and she can still hear her mother reminding her that ladies do as they're told, so she doesn't say anything.

He leads her to the tunnel that leads out of their little clearing, but then he stops and faces her.

"The first day you got here, what did I tell everyone?" he asks her.

She's a bit caught off guard. "Um…"

"I told them that you were under my protection. And I meant it. I still mean it. You have nothing to be afraid of, okay?"

"Okay," she replies.

If she's being honest, she isn't afraid of sneaking into the castle. None of the guards would dare hurt the princess if they caught her. Worst case scenario, they take her to her mother and she explains that she had a run-in with some outlaws.

But that doesn't mean she has nothing to be afraid of. She's staring into the cold hazel eyes of something to be afraid of right now.

"Okay," he echoes. Then he turns and she follows him out into the woods.

"Now what?" she asks once they've walked through the curtain of vines hiding the tunnel.

"Lead the way, shortie."

"O-oh. Right," she says.

Even though she doesn't really know her way around these woods, she's sure she'll be able to find the tunnel. She and her parents have practiced escaping from the castle through there dozens of times.

* * *

She's wrong. She is oh so very extremely wrong. They've been walking for hours and hours, and she is completely lost. It feels like they've been walking in circles, and finally she stops.

Austin passes her a canteen of water wordlessly and she drinks half of it, handing it back to him to finish it off. He sips the rest, and then looks at her.

"Do you even know where you're going?"

"I thought I did."

"But you don't. And now you're lost."

She says nothing, looking down.

"Unbelievable. Un-freaking-believable," he says.

"I'm sorry," she says quietly.

"Sorry doesn't get us home, does it?" he asks.

"Shouldn't you know your way around? You've been living out here for nine years!" she reminds him.

"I _do_ know my way around. But _you're_ the one who's lost."

"Austin, that's not fair."

"Reality check: life isn't fair."

She crosses her arms and gives him the hardest glare she can muster.

"Glaring at me isn't getting us back to camp any faster," he tells her.

She rolls her eyes and starts walking back the way she came, muttering, "I hate you," under her breath.

"What was that?" he asks.

"Nothing!" she exclaims, raising her voice in annoyance.

She hears him chuckle humorlessly behind her. "You are such a child."

"Only because you treat me like one."

"I treat you like one because you act like one."

"You treat me like one because you think that somehow me being nineteen while you're twenty-three qualifies me as a child and you as an adult."

"I _am_ an adult."

" _Whatever_!"

"Don't raise your voice at me."

"You're doing it again! You know what, I'm done talking to you," she says.

"Unbelievable," he mutters. She rolls her eyes.

They walk in silence, and Ally can't help but think about how quickly Austin's feelings towards her seem to have changed. At first, she really did feel like he was protective over her, like he cared about her, like she didn't have to be afraid of him. But now, she feels like a burden on his shoulders, like he'd leave her to die if it came down to him risking his own life to rescue her, like he might kill her himself if she pisses him off too much. She doesn't like how much they argue, either. It's like she can't even talk without him thinking she's childish or immature.

She's snapped out of her thoughts when she hears Austin's voice yell her name and feels his arms wrap around her waist and pull her backwards.

She shakes her head quickly and looks down at the cliff she almost walked off. Austin's breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling quickly against her back. His grip on her is still tight, as if he feels like letting go of her will mean she'll try to jump off the cliff in front of her.

"Are you _insane_?! You almost just walked right off that cliff! Were you even paying attention to where you were going?!"

"I was lost in thought," she says distantly, his tone not affecting her.

"You were lost in-typical. I'm gonna have to put you on a leash," he says, letting go of her. "Be more alert and aware of your surroundings. Please."

"Yeah, okay," she replies. "Wait."

She looks at a tree to her right, squinting in the bright sun. She walks over to it to take a closer look, and sure enough there's a small white sun just like her Royal Mark painted onto the trunk.

"What're you doing?" Austin asks her.

"Shh," she says. Then, she grabs a low branch of the tree, which isn't even real, and pulls on it. A door swings open and Ally grins, turning to look at Austin. "Voila."

"You…" He trails off, knitting his eyebrows together. "You found it. You _actually_ found it."

"What, you didn't think I could?"

"Not really, considering how lost you are."

"Well, I did. So _there_." She sticks her tongue out at him and walks in the door, Austin hot on her heels.

They climb down a ladder inside the trunk of the fake tree to get to the actual tunnel, and then they walk side by side in the darkness.

"Austin?" she says quietly.

"Yeah?"

"You saved my life earlier."

"I guess. So?"

"So…you've been saying a lot that you regret saving my life from the bear. You could've just let me die and then you would've been done with me."

"I don't understand."

"Well, you're acting like I'm such a burden. It seems like you feel like you're babysitting me or something. A-and last night, you seemed about ready to just kill me then and there. You even said you could. You could've just let me walk off that cliff and it would've been my fault. I would've been gone and out of your life and you wouldn't have had to deal with me anymore," she explains, her voice barely above a whisper.

Austin doesn't speak for a while, but then he holds out his arm so Ally stops walking.

"Is that what you think I see you as? A burden?"

"Yeah, kinda."

"Ally," he says, "you're not a burden. Sure, you're a bit of an immature brat who could use more than one reality check, and maybe sometimes I do feel a bit like your babysitter-"

"I don't like where this is going," Ally remarks.

Austin chuckles a bit. "What I'm trying to say is that I don't _actually_ regret saving your life. I'd never regret saving _anyone's_ life. I just…well, I have a short temper, and you push me very close to my limit."

"Oops."

"And sometimes I hit that limit…like last night. I'm not gonna tell you it won't happen again because it probably will, knowing you, but I _will_ tell you that I'd never _truly_ hurt you. Nothing that'd threaten your life or cause any lasting pain. I don't kill people. Never have, never will."

"Wait, you've never killed anyone?"

"You sound surprised."

"I am."

"No, I've never killed anyone. All those rumors are wrong."

"Oh." Ally relaxes a bit. "Hey, Austin?"

"Yes, Ally?"

"Trish said you aren't a nice person, but that you care about people. Do you care about me?"

"You're a people, aren't you?"

"Austin, I'm serious. You don't care about everyone you meet. You don't care about the guards at the castle, I'm sure. I mean, you care enough not to kill them, but that's just humanity. Do you _actually_ care about me the way you care about the others at camp?"

Austin doesn't say anything for a while.

"I know you've been with them for nine years so obviously you'd care about them more than me, but do you care about me more than just enough not to kill me?" she continues.

Austin still doesn't speak, but he grabs her by the waist and pulls her into him. She stiffens at the contact, but then relaxes into him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He rests his forehead on her shoulder and sways slowly in the darkness of the underground tunnel.

"Over the years, we've all become like a family," he says quietly. "Everyone cares about each other, no matter how much we irritate and annoy one another. They all like you and care about you, so you're already a part of the family."

"You said _they_. Not _we_."

Austin lifts his forehead off her shoulder and tightens his grip around her a bit, still swaying. " _We_ care about you. You're one of us now."

She smiles slightly. "My old family didn't really care about me. I mean, they did, but…it wasn't in the way I wanted them to, y'know?"

"Yeah, I get it," Austin replies.

"It feels more real with all of you. Being cared about, I mean. I feel like I have a bunch of big brothers and sisters now." She giggles slightly. "I was an only child."

"Ah, that explains the brattiness," Austin says, but she can tell from his voice that he's teasing. "Well, now you get to be the annoying, childish, incredibly irritating yet somehow slightly endearing baby sister."

"Yay," Ally replies.

The pair walks in silence until they arrive at the end of the tunnel, which Ally recognizes because she runs right smack into the wall. Austin snickers quietly.

"Well, we made it," she says, rubbing her aching forehead. She goes to start climbing up the ladder that leads inside the castle, but Austin grabs her wrist to stop her. She turns to face his shadow of a figure in the darkness.

"What we're about to do might get dangerous," he tells her. "It _is_ dangerous. If we get caught, we could be killed. It's okay to be afraid, but don't let that stop you. Let it fuel you to get the job done. I've got your back, okay?"

"Okay," she says, "but I'm not scared of anything." With that, she turns and starts climbing up the ladder.

He follows her, muttering something under his breath. She rolls her eyes and continues climbing to the top.

She tries to make space for Austin in the small room at the top of the ladder. It's practically a broom closet; a room hiding a secret escape route isn't one that company would likely spend time in.

"Isn't there any more room?" the blonde whines quietly in the darkness after closing the hatch above the ladder.

"No," Ally whispers back. "Quit whining."

"I'm not whining," Austin says. "I just don't like being so bloody close to you."

"Whatever."

She looks out a crack between two wood panels in the door to make sure the coast is clear. Once she's as sure as she can be, she turns to Austin again.

"Stay here," she whispers. "I'll go to the garden and steal some of the plant, and-"

"Let you raid the castle alone? Not likely. You'll be dead in minutes. I'll take the lead."

"You have no faith in me whatsoever," she whisper-yells, narrowing her eyes even though he can't see them.

"I have plenty of faith in you. Just not to go raid the bloody castle all by yourself!" he whispers back, his hot breath fanning out on her face. "You can hardly even shoot an arrow!"

She clenches her jaw. Things would be much faster and much easier if she could go on her own. No one would likely see her, and if they did the worst case scenario would be being brought to her mother for a lecture about leaving the castle. If Austin goes with her, however, the consequences of getting caught will be a lot more drastic.

"Fine," she finally relents, because she doesn't have much of a choice, "you can come."

"Oh, I'm so grateful that you agreed," the boy says sarcastically, pushing past her to leave the room.

It takes everything in her not to smack him.

She follows him silently, but she isn't happy about it. He stops and looks around the corner, and then he quickly hides again. She raises her eyebrows. _Guards_ , he mouths. She nods in understanding.

Luckily for them, the guards leave as their shift ends. Austin notices this and hurries to the gardens, Ally close on his heels.

"Okay, which one is it?" he asks after they hide behind some bushes.

"That one," Ally whispers, pointing to a small, leafy plant on the other side of the garden. "Should we get some now to bring back?"

Austin nods. "I'll be back," he whispers.

He looks around, stands up, and sprints over to the plant. Ally finds this an idiotic move as he could've easily sneaked behind the trees around the perimeter of the garden, but he manages to grab a few stalks of the plant and sprint back without being seen.

Ally opens her mouth to call him a few names and tell him how he _should've_ gone about retrieving the plant, but then she remembers her neck wound and thinks better of it. _Ladies must be seen and not heard_ , she hears echoing in her mind again.

"C'mon," Austin whispers, putting the plants in his bag. "We'll just climb over the wall and sneak through the village.

By now the sun has set, and she decides that if they're careful and not stupid, this plan is okay.

Not that she would've argued otherwise.

Austin leads her to the wall and grabs onto the dark green vines climbing up the side of it. He hoists himself up and manages to use small outcroppings in the uneven stone bricks as footholds while using the vines as handholds. He gets to the top of the wall faster than she could've imagined, and she stands on the ground, in awe.

"You coming?" he asks, looking down at her.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she nods and grabs the vines. But when she tries to find the same footholds he used, she can't find them. She looks up at him helplessly.

"C'mon, Ally," he whisper-yells down to her. "I can't help you out on this one. You can do it."

She sets her jaw and tries again, but to no avail. She looks up at Austin again, and sees a bit of worry etched into his features. But she can tell he's trying to hide it, so she doesn't ask about it.

"I have an idea," she quietly calls up to him. "I'll just go back out the secret tunnel and meet you at the tree. You know where it is?"

Austin nods from his perch on the wall. "But there's no way I can let you go alone."

"Trust me," she says.

"Ally-"

"Race you there!" she says with a grin. Then, she turns and darts between the plants in the garden before Austin can say anything else.

Once she knows he can't see her, she lets her fake grin fade away from her face. Some time away from him will be good for her. Maybe when she sees him again, it'll come as a relief.

She touches the bandage on her neck lightly and bites her lip. Hopefully, her actions won't come with consequences.

She half expects Austin to come running in behind her, but perhaps he's decided to think of this as a sort of test. Surely somehow, though, he'll still know if she gets into trouble so he can come rescue her. She may still be afraid of him, but at least she knows he cares about her.

Ally walks through her old home quickly, her eyes darting back and forth looking for guards, servants, maids, or worst of all, her parents. What she doesn't expect is to hear a servant calling out from behind her.

"Princess!"

She shuts her eyes tightly and freezes. Then, taking a deep breath, she opens her eyes and turns around, plastering a smile on her face.

"Good evening," she says, bowing her head politely.

"It's the middle of the night," the servant says quietly, cocking an eyebrow. "Nobody's seen you in over a week; the King and Queen are worried sick! Where've you been?"

"Oh, I've been staying in the hotel," she lies. "You see, after I read to the children at the school, they all begged me for more. So, I decided to put on the play I wrote for one of my assignments, and assign all the children parts. It was lovely, really. I suppose I should've sent a message. That was quite careless of me. I apologize."

"Princess, we've been told not to let you leave without an escort."

"I was fine, I promise," she says.

"What're you wearing?" the servant asks, looking at Ally's filthy attire.

"This is my costume for the play. And don't worry about the bandage. My character gets injured. She lives, though, so don't worry." Ally giggles quietly, hiding her nerves.

"Alright," the servant says, smiling slightly. "You should probably head up to sleep now. Would you like me to send up a maid-"

"That won't be necessary," Ally interrupts. "Thank you, though."

The servant nods and bows, and she nods her head. Once he's out of her line of vision, she turns and sprints to the closet she came in through and quickly climbs down the ladder.

Once in the safety of the dark tunnels, she takes a deep, relieved breath. She wonders for a moment if Austin will be proud of her for her quick thinking, but then realizes she can't relay this story to him. Doing so would mean she'd have to explain why she wasn't killed on sight, and _that_ would entail her to tell him her true identity. And while she knows he wouldn't necessarily _kill_ her, that doesn't mean he wouldn't kidnap her or maim her or worse.

She starts walking down the long tunnel, blinking as her eyes adjust to the darkness. After a while of being alone in pitch blackness with nothing but the sound of her own breathing and her footsteps to keep her company, she kind of misses the blonde-haired outlaw.

So her prediction was right, then.

When she finally arrives at the ladder at the other end of the tunnel after what feels like hours (but was probably only about half an hour) of walking, she grins and climbs it quickly. She presses a button to open the door and walks out into the lighter (but still pretty dark) forest. At least here she has the moonlight and the song of the animals and insects to provide her with some light and sounds, and therefore some sanity.

Suddenly, something large and warm crashes into her and holds her around the waist firmly. She lets out a scream and tries to fight it, but then she hears a voice by her ear.

"It's me. You're okay."

She immediately relaxes at the blonde's smooth, low voice and she sighs in relief. She hugs him back and takes a deep breath, closing her eyes.

"You're okay," he repeats, tightening his grip around her. It seems as though he's speaking more to himself than to her.

"I missed you," she whispers.

"You're _okay_ ," he echoes for a third time, and she suddenly realizes just how worried he was.

Twenty-four hours ago at this time he was probably pressed up against her, drawing blood from her neck and mumbling threats. Now, he's holding her as if she might fall apart when he lets go and trying to reassure himself that she really _is_ alright. Some mood swings you've got there, she thinks to herself.

"We should probably get back to camp," she says quietly, starting to pull away. He tightens his grip again and pulls her ever closer, apparently not quite ready to let her go.

To her surprise, she doesn't feel uncomfortable.

" _You're okay_ ," he says yet again, for it seems that it's all he's able to think about.

"I'm okay," she replies gently. "What happened to believing in me?"

"I do believe in you, I just…" He trails off. "I got here a while ago, and the minutes were dragging on and I just started coming up with all these scenarios of what could've happened to you and…"

"Well, I'm fine," she promises. "Not even a scratch. Except for the one _you_ gave me."

He finally pulls away from her, and she shivers at the loss of warmth. She shivers _again_ when he reaches out and gently brushes his fingers over the bandage on her neck, looking guilty.

"C'mon," he says quietly, "let's go home."

They walk side by side in the darkness once again, and neither of them speaks. As they tread through the forest, she notices that never breaks contact with her. Whether he's holding her hand, gently placing his hand on her back, or even just walking so close their arms are touching, he can't seem go without some sort of physical contact with her.

She figures out eventually that he must still be paranoid, like if he isn't touching her she'll suddenly disappear. He really _was_ worried about her then, even more than she thought at first. She finds herself smiling in the moonlight and grabbing his hand of her own free accord.

His hand envelops hers, and she glances up at him, taking in the details of his features. His face is expressionless, but she can tell he knows where he's going. His light hair shines like a beacon where the moonlight hits it, and she sees a bit of stubble on his chin and along his jawline. She notices the crinkles by his eyes from smiling, and the worry lines on his forehead from _not_ smiling, and she wonders just how many different emotions and thoughts go through his mind each day.

She looks head again, but through her peripheral she notices him checking on her every so often.

And for some reason, she feels safe around him once again, even more than before.

* * *

 **Sorry it's been like a month since my last update. I just haven't had much inspiration lately. Until I literally wrote the entire second half of this chapter from 2:40-3:35 a.m. when I told Lexy and Presley I was going to sleep. Whoops. Anyway, thanks for reading and reviews are lovely :)**


	6. Chapter 6

"Hey, all I'm saying is that there's no need to be jealous. It isn't _my_ fault that everyone was happier to see me than you. I'm just more likable."

She grins victoriously as she sees the blonde's eyes blaze in annoyance. She shoots an arrow as she waits for his response and smiles wider when she sees it hit closer to the center than before.

"Are you coming or not?" he asks her, clearly trying his best to stay calm.

"Not," she says nonchalantly, shooting another arrow.

"Wrong answer."

"I know why you want me to go so bad." She looks at him and smirks. "You're afraid that I'll become a better archer than you."

Austin rolls his eyes.

Since their adventure last night and Ally's newfound security around him, she's no longer afraid to bother him, bicker with him, and be her normal, argumentative self. Which is why she's comfortable refusing to make the paste with the fire-resistant plant she mentioned at the meeting.

"It's okay, Austin," she says, pulling another arrow out of her quiver. "I'm just better than you."

"Someone's found their confidence again," the boy mutters. "Come on."

"Hmm, go do boring work or stay here and do something I actually enjoy?" Ally pretends to weigh her options. "Have fun making plant paste, blondie."

"I didn't ask. Come. On."

"No thanks."

"Ally-"

"I'm _training_ , Austin. Don't you want me to be able to defend myself? Remember how _worried_ about me you were last night?"

His jaw clenches and suddenly he's kicked her feet out from under her and pinned her on the ground. His sword is at her throat, but she can't find it in herself to be truly afraid.

But that doesn't mean she's comfortable with the intimacy.

"You are going to do as I tell you," he says lowly through clenched teeth.

She swallows her discomfort and smirks up at him. "Or what?"

He looks taken aback at her reaction, apparently having expected her to turn into the fear-ridden girl she was the first time.

"Oh, c'mon," she continues. "I've been through this before. And besides, I know you wouldn't actually cut me this time. My wound from the first time is still healing, and I know that must go against some honor code of yours. _And_ it just scabbed over, and I know you don't wanna waste any more bandages or rubbing alcohol."

He opens his mouth to speak, but she cuts him off.

"And even if you _did_ cut me, I know you wouldn't do any real damage. I'm not afraid of you. That's what you wanted, right?"

Austin watches her in silence, still sitting on top of her with his sword pressed against her. He searches her eyes, and she smirks again at his hesitation.

He drops his sword next to her head and leans forward, supporting his weight on his forearms. His eyes don't stop looking into hers, and her breath hitches at the close proximity.

"But you don't like this much, do you?" he asks quietly, his smooth voice both soothing her and sending her into panic mode. Her heart pounds so hard she's sure he can feel it.

"This is low," she tells him.

"Are you gonna do what I say?"

"No."

She sees frustration cross his features.

"Why don't you follow simple orders?"

"Because I believe in independence."

"Wanna go be independent in the woods?"

"If this is your way of trying to get me to go have sex with you-"

"You're impossible!" he exclaims, rolling off her.

She sits up, looking over at him and grinning. "You know what, I don't think you'd have me any other way."

"Oh, go drown in the lake," he says, rolling his eyes.

She acts hurt. "I thought you cared about me."

Apparently believing her, he immediately goes into guilt mode. "Ally, I was kidding. I thought-"

She grins again, and he rolls his eyes a second time and shoves her gently.

"You are the most annoying person I've ever met," he says. She giggles. "I'm serious!"

"Sure you are."

She looks into his eyes, and she sees a hint of warmth in the usual coldness of his irises. His eyes look just a bit softer than usual, just a bit warmer and more welcoming, and with a start she realizes that this is the first time he's looked that way because of her. _She_ is the reason that small spark of warmth is in his cold eyes; not the bonfire, or the other people, or anything else. She smiles at the thought, still staring into his eyes.

"What're you looking at?" he asks her, sitting up and looking over at her.

"Your eyes."

"Like what you see?" he jokes.

She nods honestly. "They aren't completely cold like usual. They're really pretty."

"Uh, thanks, kid," he says, raising an eyebrow.

She shakes her head quickly, blinking a few times. "If I'm not mistaken, I think you're growing a bit fond of me, Moon."

"Fond of you? Yeah, right," he retorts. "You're like the human embodiment of a headache."

She grins. "You like me."

"Please, I don't like _anyone_."

"You like the others. And you said you care about me just as much as them, so you like me."

"I care about you. Doesn't mean I like you."

"But you do. Just admit it."

"You are _really_ irritating."

"Thanks. It's whatever. _I_ know you like me. And if it makes you feel any better, I like you too."

She does like him. Not in any romantic way, of course, but as a mentor, friend, even brother-figure. And she knows that, even if he won't say it, he likes her too.

"Yeah, whatever."

Austin gets up, and so does she. Together, they walk across the bridge to the work stations, and Austin sits Ally at a small table with a large pot full of water on it, as well as a basket of the plant he took from the castle garden next to it.

"Mix away," he tells her.

"I'm still better than you," she calls after him as he walks away.

He turns and walks backwards to talk to her. "Whatever floats your boat. Just remember who's older, bigger, and wiser."

She rolls her eyes, and then jumps when she hears a splash. Looking over at where Austin was just walking, she sees him sitting in the creek, spitting out water. The people around her laugh at him, and she laughs with them.

"Very wise," she calls to him between her giggles.

He clenches his jaw (but she can see the smile fighting to form on his face and smiles internally at the fact that she's the reason for it) and gets up, walking over to her. She clears her throat and starts mixing the paste, and when he stops in front of her, dripping wet, she looks up at him, acting irritated.

"I'm working."

Without a word, he picks her up and throws her over his shoulder as if she weighed nothing.

"Austin!" she screams. "Put me down! You're all wet!"

She pounds on his back as he walks to the creek. He steps in the water and walks over to stand in the pond, where the water reaches his waist.

"Yeah, and so are you."

He proceeds to drop her in the water. She quickly finds her footing and comes up spluttering.

She moves her wet hair out of her face to glare at him, and he smirks at her. She splashes him.

"Oh, you wanna do battle? I'll do battle."

He bites his lip, still fighting a smile, and splashes her back. So she splashes him, and he splashes her, and they go on like this for a while before she eventually jumps at him in an attempt to push him under. He catches her in his arms with ease, raising his eyebrows.

"You thought that would work?" he asks in amusement, his eyes level with hers because of the way he's holding her.

She tries pushing on his chest, but all he does is chuckle.

"I've got the upper hand here, kid. Your feet aren't even touching the ground."

She suddenly becomes aware of her body pressed against his, and she swallows.

"Why are you fine with hugs and stuff, but not things like this? Not judging, just wondering," he asks.

"Well, hugs freaked me out too until you gave me so many. Could you put me down?" He obeys. "Anyway, to answer your question, I'm just not used to it. I _have_ been living alone for three years. Human contact is just new to me. But if you're that worried, I'm sure it'll be fine soon. Another advantage you _won't_ have over me," she finishes with a smirk. But she isn't smirking at her statement; she's just proud of her incorporation of her lie about her background into this everyday conversation. She's getting better at this keeping secrets thing.

"Yeah, yeah," he says. "Go dry off and get back to work."

"You get back to work," she argues, shoving him gently.

"I'm about to." He climbs out of the pond and offering his hand to help her. She takes it and follows him.

"What're you doing?" she asks him as he leads her to the supply tent and hands her a towel. (So _that's_ why they never seemed to have enough at the castle.)

"I am in charge of going out and collecting firewood."

"Alone?"

"We only have someone do it once a week, and they keep in touch with the hunters."

"Can I come?"

Austin chuckles, shaking his head and splashing water from his hair all over her. "You have your own job now, Ally."

"I can do it while we walk. Please? Someday _I'm_ gonna be in charge of collecting firewood, so I may as well learn now."

"Oh, fine," Austin relents, rolling his eyes.

She grins. "Let me go grab my stuff."

"It'll be there when we get back."

Austin grabs the handle of a large cart in the supply tent and pulls it out. Ally follows him as he pulls the cart out into the woods through the tunnel.

"You want big, dry pieces," Austin says after a while, picking up a few logs and tossing them on the cart. "Pine needles, small sticks, and leaves are good for getting the fire going. Those go in here since they're smaller." He picks up a mesh bag off the cart and scoops in some pine needles off the ground, as well as a handful of leaves. Then, he hands the bag to her and continues pulling the cart. She grins and follows him.

As they walk, she gathers the items he listed into the bag.

"So, how _did_ you do it?" he asks after a while.

"How'd I do what?"

"Live alone for three years in the woods. I mean, when we met a bear was just about to kill you."

She smiles a bit and shrugs. "Luck, I guess."

"No one is _that_ lucky."

"I am."

"Whatever."

* * *

At the bonfire that night, Ally finds herself next to Austin again. Out of the corner of her eye, she notices him watching her with a small smile as she relates part of the story of their small castle raid to the others.

"I'm still eighty-nine percent sure Austin cried. He was _so_ worried," she finishes.

"Hey, I didn't _cry_ -"

"Sure you didn't, buddy," Dez says.

Ally grins as Austin rolls his eyes. She shoves him gently and he smiles, that warm look flashing in his hazel eyes.

"You care about me," she teases, poking his stomach. He laughs a bit and flinches away from her.

"Don't do that."

"Admit you care about me."

"Or what?"

"Austin, stop flirting with the newbie. She's too young for you," Trish says. Everyone at the bonfire snickers while Austin rolls his eyes and Ally blushes.

Someone whose name Ally can't remember goes into a lame ghost story and everyone listens intently. Ally yawns as her eyes start drooping.

"You tired?" Trish asks her, smiling slightly.

She shakes her head, stifling another yawn. "No."

But not five seconds later her head has found its way onto Austin's shoulder. She feels his bangs brush her cheek as he looks over at her, and then feels him shrug slightly, probably signaling to the others that he doesn't know what she's doing.

She scoots a bit closer to him to be more comfortable and closes her eyes. He leans his cheek against her head and continues listening to whoever's telling the story. Meanwhile, Ally finds herself drifting in between sleep and consciousness.

"Austin?" she whispers, half asleep.

"Mmm?" he says quietly so as to not draw attention away from the story.

"It's okay to admit you were so worried about me you cried."

Austin chuckles quietly. "Okay, Ally."

"And it's okay to admit you care about me."

"Go to sleep."

She smiles sleepily.

"But I do. Care about you, I mean," he whispers.

She snuggles just a little closer, and the low chatter of her friends along with the warmth from the fire and Austin, she drifts off to sleep.

* * *

 **this chapter is more of a cute filler than anything. and now that I've finished when you force a friendship, this will be my top priority. thanks for reading and please review :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Ally wipes the sweat from her forehead and continues lathering plant paste on the tree trunk in front of her. She doesn't understand why Austin didn't send anyone to help her; she made a _lot_ of paste for a _lot_ of trees and it's really going to take a while to cover all of them. Plus, he expects her to train for _at least_ two hours a day _and_ attend every meal and meeting (which are now being held daily in order to plan for the next raid in just one week).

Long story short, she's exhausted. She always leaves the bonfire to go to bed before everyone else, and she's always the last to wake up. Austin refuses to stop making fun of her for it.

"Ally, lunch time!" she hears the blonde call from the edge of the trees.

She sighs in relief, sets her bucket down, and jogs out to the table.

"You should really eat more, no wonder you're so tired all the time," Trish remarks after Ally grabs an orange and two pieces of jerky.

"I don't get that hungry," she replies with a shrug, sitting down in her seat between Trish and Austin.

"Still," Trish says. "Gotta keep your energy up. You're busy lately."

"At least I'm doing stuff. I'm fine, really," Ally promises.

"You're drinking enough water, right?" Austin asks, looking at her.

She rolls her eyes. "Yes, _mom_ ," she jokes.

"You're getting enough sleep at night?" Dez adds.

"What's got you all so worried?" Ally laughs. "Honestly, I may be younger than all of you, but I know how to take care of myself." She starts peeling her orange.

"Speaking of taking care of yourself, you're training after lunch," Austin says to her.

"But I did my two hours of archery this morning," Ally argues.

"You're training with _me_ after lunch. And we're not doing archery."

She knits her eyebrows. "Then what're we doing?"

"We, my young friend, are teaching _you_ how to use a sword."

Ally immediately lights up. "Really?!"

"Mmhm," Austin says with a nod. "You're ready. And you need to know at least a little bit for the raid, just in case."

"I'm gonna be _so good_ at this, I can feel it."

"Just like you were good at archery?" Austin teases.

Ally rolls her eyes and nudges him with her shoulder, going back to eating her orange.

After lunch, Austin and Ally walk across the bridge and to the weapons tables.

Ally grins in excitement as she looks at all the gleaming swords. This is what she's been dreaming of since she was little, watching all the young squires do their training. And finally it's _her_ turn.

"What're you smiling at?" Austin asks, chuckling and raising his eyebrows at her.

"I'm excited!" she squeals. "I've always wanted to learn how to use a sword!"

"Yeah? Why didn't you?"

"My mom never let me. Girls aren't supposed to use swords."

"Really?"

Ally shakes her head. "Not where I'm from, at least."

"Well, where _I'm_ from, all the girls could use swords. Except royalty, of course."

"Were you a peasant before you ran away?" she asks, trying to find out anything she can about his background.

"Knight," he corrects her.

"Which is why you're so good at all this. It makes sense now."

Austin smiles a bit. "What were you?"

"Daughter of a lower-class noble. Nothing special. So…are you from a different kingdom than the one I came from?"

"Yeah," Austin nods. "About ten, fifteen miles north of here. That doesn't matter, though."

"If you don't mind me asking, why do you – _we_ only steal from the Royals?"

"Well, stealing from peasants would just be ridiculous. Besides, the whole reason we ran away is because the king and queen of our kingdom treated outlaws and peasants like dirt. We tried making a statement, y'know? I mean, all we got was officially banished, but that's not the point. Now, we steal from Royals and give all the money we get to the peasants."

"Oh," she says. "So you guys are like heroes."

"You could say that. And _you_ will be, too. Try this." He hands her a sword, and she takes it.

"Too heavy."

"I thought you were strong now."

She rolls her eyes and hands the sword back to him. He smiles and hands her another one.

"Better," she says with a nod.

"Good."

Austin leads her back to the clearing and draws his own sword. Ally raises her eyebrows.

"Aren't you gonna teach me something before you – "

He cuts her off by swinging at her, causing her to yelp and raise her sword to block him.

"Are you out of your mind?!" she yells at him. "You could've killed me!"

"But I didn't," he says calmly. "You saved yourself. Good job, kid."

She takes a step back, her mouth falling open at his lack of emotion. "You really are insane."

"Ally, I wasn't going to hurt you."

"Looked like you were!"

He rolls his eyes. "Calm down."

"You almost _killed_ me!"

"You're overreacting – "

"I am _not_ overreacting!"

He takes a deep breath and looks at her. She glares back at him.

"Are you done yet?" he asks her.

She lifts up her chin. "I suppose," she says stubbornly.

"Do you need a hug?"

"You almost killed me. I don't want a – "

"Too late," he says, wrapping his arms around her.

She stands still, refusing to hug him back (no matter how warm and comfortable he is).

"I'm mad at you," she tells him.

"I know."

"You're so touchy."

"I know."

She sighs in defeat and hugs the tall boy back, closing her eyes. He rests his chin on her head and rubs her back, causing her to (regretfully) relax into him. Her ear is against his chest, and his heartbeat soothes her. She yawns and tightens her grip around him. He chuckles.

"C'mon, Cuddly. We gotta keep working."

Sighing, she pulls away from him. "Fine," she says. "But if you try to kill me again – "

"Oh, I would _never_ ," he teases.

And with that, he finally begins _teaching_ her. She catches on pretty fast, at least in her opinion, and Austin actually looks _impressed_ , something she's discovered is quite a rarity, especially where she's concerned.

"Alright," he says after a few hours of teaching her, "I think we can call it a day. Tomorrow, we can start sparring."

She sighs in relief and drops her sword, laying down on the grass and closing her eyes.

"Hey, no napping. You still have to paint the roses red, or whatever."

"I'm done with plant paste. You do it. I'll just lay here."

"C'mon, Ally. You're doing so well."

"I'm exhausted."

"I know you are. But you gotta keep going."

She opens her eyes and sees that he's kneeling next to her, giving her a small smile.

"Fine," she mutters.

He helps her up and together they walk back across the bridge.

"Could you at least help me?" she asks him.

"Maybe," he says. "We'll see. I gotta go talk to Dez about something, though. See you later."

He ruffles her hair and walks off to wherever Dez is, and she sighs and goes back in the woods.

* * *

So Austin lied about helping her. It's getting dark now and he never showed up. She decides to call it quits for the day and go get ready for dinner (and maybe take a nap while she's at it.)

She sets her things down and begins to climb back up the ladder, when she hears Austin's loud voice from a few yards away.

" _No_ , Dez! We can't take her!"

Ally frowns and sneaks to the edge of the woods to hear better. From the looks of it, everyone except her is gathered around the table. She hides behind a tree to listen.

"Austin, all of us think she's ready. She went with you and she was fine."

"She's _not_ ready," Austin says. "That was just a small thing. This is a full-blown raid. We almost lost Piper last time, remember?! Ally isn't as good a fighter as she is. If that was Ally, she would've been gone. I promised to protect her, and I can't do that if she gets captured!"

"But if she doesn't go on any raids, she'll never learn," Trish tries.

"She _will_. Just not this one. I refuse to risk it and it's not going to be negotiated. I'm the leader and what I say goes. Ally isn't going on the raid."

"You weren't worried for any of us on our first raid. And you were the only one really experienced."

"We were all kids, and we were desperate. This time, we aren't. We don't _need_ her for this to be successful. It isn't worth the risk. Now…go get ready for dinner. She'll be coming out of the woods soon. And if any of you breathe a _word_ of this to her, I'll have your heads."

There's a low mumble across the others, and then everyone disperses. Well, everyone except Austin, Trish, and Dez.

"Austin, are you _positive_ this is the right choice?" Trish asks. "I mean, maybe we should let her decide for herself. She _is_ nineteen, and even though that's younger than the rest of us, that's still old enough to decide what she wants. She might get mad if she thinks you're trying to control her, and if that happens she'll find a way to go anyway."

"I won't let her," Austin says. "She _can't_ go. I – I just won't allow it. She's too inexperienced, too young – "

"Both of which are untrue," Dez interrupts.

"Fine," Austin says. "Say we do take her. Say she gets captured. Say it comes down to it and she has to choose between telling them everything she knows about us, or her life. She isn't as brave as she pretends to be, Dez. Do you honestly think she's die to keep our secret?!"

"Yes," Dez says calmly. "Haven't you seen her? She cares about us."

"And we can all protect her," Trish says. "Assign someone to watch out for her without her knowing. It can even be you if you want."

"I still don't want her going," Austin says stubbornly.

"You can try to scare her out of it," Dez suggests. "Tell her how scary and dangerous it is, tell her that she could die and all that. And if she still wants to go, let her. But you can just keep an eye on her."

"No. She's. Not. Going."

Ally clenches her jaw and storms out of the woods and over to the trio, glaring at Austin.

"All that stuff about me getting better, about you believing in me, it was a lie then, was it?!" she yells, glaring up at him.

His eyes widen. "You heard all that?"

"Yeah, I did. You know, I thought that out of everyone you were the one person who _did_ believe in me. But clearly I had it backwards. I can't _believe_ you don't want to let me go on this raid!"

"Ally, I promised to protect you – "

"So you're not even gonna give me the _chance_?!"

"I'm trying to _protect_ you!"

"You're not protecting me!" she exclaims. "You're _grounding_ me!"

"I _am_ protecting you! And maybe if you weren't so _naïve_ , you'd see that!"

"No! You're acting like I can't handle myself at all! What about all that training, huh?! Is all of that for nothing?!"

"You aren't _ready_ yet – "

"I _am_ ready! _You're_ not!"

"I hate it when you act like this!" he screams. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Trish and Dez wince. "You think you can handle these things, you think you know how everything works and you think you can run the world but you _can't_ and you're just gonna get yourself killed!"

"I hate you!" she screams back at him. "I hope you die on that raid!"

He sets his jaw and whips out his sword, but she's ready for it. She grabs Dez's sword off the table and deflects his usual swipe at her legs.

That makes him even angrier.

The pair gets into a heated fight, and she can hardly keep up. The clanking of their swords pierces the night, and she vaguely notices everyone coming out from their huts to see what the clamor is about.

She swipes and jabs and she knows he's going to win out in the end because he's much more experienced but she needs to _prove_ that she isn't going down without a fight.

He catches her by surprise and nicks her arm. Pain sears through her shoulder and down to her fingers, but she grits her teeth and goes on the defensive, focusing on the glint of his sword in the moonlight and the sounds of hers banging against it.

She parries one of his blows and quickly uses a chair to step on top of the table, hoping that her new height will give her an advantage.

Unfortunately, it was a mistake. Austin kicks the table over and sends her tumbling to the ground, and before she can stand back up he's straddling her with her sword a few feet away, her hands pinned above her head, and his sword digging into her neck, sweat beading on his forehead and his eyes blazing with anger.

They stay like that for a while, just glaring at each other. She's faintly aware of the blood beginning to trickle down her neck as the almost-healed wound reopens under the blade of his sword.

But she isn't afraid. Not even uncomfortable at their closeness. All she feels is red-hot fury and the adrenaline coursing through her veins.

"You're not going," Austin hisses through gritted teeth.

"I'm going," she spits back at him, struggling in his grip. He tightens his knees on either side of her hips to hold her in place, and his hand tightens on her wrists. He digs his sword further into her neck, but with her adrenaline she hardly feels the pain.

"They'll _kill_ you, Ally," he says, sounding even angrier, his voice low and intense. "They will capture you, and then they'll torture you until you beg for death, and then they'll kill you. I am _not_ letting that happen."

"You're the best swordsman there is, aren't you? That's what everyone says. And I just fought you off for a while. Long enough to hold a guard off before you oh-so-heroically come and save me, since clearly I can't save myself."

"I'm not letting you come with us," he says, his voice shaking with anger. "I'm _not_."

"It should be up to me."

"It isn't. I'm doing this to _protect_ you."

"Maybe I don't want your protection, have you ever thought of that, Moon? Maybe I wanna learn how to handle myself without _you_ constantly nagging at me about how many times I would've died already if you weren't always _saving_ me. Maybe that's it."

"I'm not going to stop protecting you just because _you're_ being a brat about it."

"Oh, we're resulting to those kinds of insults now? I thought you were better than that."

He closes his eyes and exhales in frustration, removing his sword from her neck and stabbing it into the ground next to them. He leans forward, placing his free hand next to her head to balance him, and resting his forehead against hers in what _she_ thinks is defeat.

Surprisingly, she still isn't uncomfortable.

" _Please_ don't go," he whispers, sounding exhausted. "Ally, I'm _begging_ you."

She realizes that the others are still watching them, and this position could suggest many different things. She swallows her embarrassment.

"I just…I _need_ to protect you," he continues in a whisper, more of a sigh than anything. "It's not that I don't believe in you. I…I don't believe in _myself_. I'm afraid that, if it comes down to it, I won't be able to save you when it matters most. And I know that everything will probably be fine and you can probably handle yourself well, but…I just – I wanna be _sure_."

He sounds sincere, but that doesn't mean she wants to let him win.

"I'm not scared," she tells him. "I'm not scared of any of that. I'm not scared of anything."

He lets out a low, quiet chuckle and adjusts his forehead against hers. "I know you're not," he says. "But I am. _Please_ don't go."

"I have to be allowed to go on the next raid. And you have to finish putting the paste on all the trees."

"Done," he whispers.

"Then fine. I won't go."

He sighs in relief and sits up, pulling her up into a sitting position and wrapping his arms around her tightly. She sighs in defeat and hugs him back.

He buries his face in the crook of her neck, something she's already grown oddly used too, and she hears a collective sigh of relief from their audience.

"I'm sorry," he whispers, his lips brushing against her neck and making her shiver. She moves a hand to his hair and combs her fingers through it soothingly, and she feels him relax just slightly.

"I don't want you to die on the raid," she whispers back. "I'm sorry too."

Then, she feels a sharp pain from her neck and remembers her reopened wound.

"Ow," she mutters, pulling away from the hug and bringing a hand to her neck. It comes back bloody.

He looks at the wound and calmly calls for the first aid supplies. He bandages her up once again and tells everyone to scram. They all scurry back to their huts, including Trish and Dez, and he pulls her into a standing position and leads her to hers.

She climbs in bed and looks at him, standing in the doorway with the soft moonlight behind him making him look like he's faintly glowing.

"Are we… Are we okay?" he asks her.

"For now," she replies honestly. Because with them, it's only a matter of time before they get into another fight.

He smiles a bit. "Night, kid."

She mumbles a goodnight back to him, already half asleep. She hears him shut the door and walk to his hut, and then she drifts off to sleep.

* * *

 **sorry it's been a while! i hope this sort of made up for it :)**


	8. Chapter 8

"Shouldn't you be painting the roses red?" Ally teases her blond friend as she walks up to him in the meadow. He's practicing his archery (though he really doesn't have to at this point), and she grabs a bow and a few arrows from the weapons table because she left hers in her hut.

"Funny," he replies, stepping aside to let her have a go. She aims and shoots, just barely missing the middle of the target. "Look at you, kid."

"Look at me." She holds up one arm and flexes it, and he gently squeezes her bicep.

"Very strong," he says with a nod.

"So, what're you doing over here?" she asks him as he shoots an arrow and hits the bulls-eye. "You don't really need any archery practice, and you and me aren't sparring till after lunch, and you've got your work cut out for you with those trees, so – "

"Just thinking," he interrupts her.

"About what?"

He's silent for a while, and she takes that opportunity to shoot again, still a little too far to the left of the bulls-eye.

"Just…things."

"What things?"

"This raid really has to go well."

"They always go well, I thought," Ally says, tilting her head.

Austin shrugs, drawing another arrow from the quiver on his back.

"There've been too many close calls lately. We let our guard down, and then we almost get captured."

"And you know you can't save everyone."

"No, I cannot," he agrees, aiming his arrow and letting it go. This time, though, he aimed at the sky, and the arrow hits a bird flying overhead. It drops to the ground with a _thud_ , and he walks a few yards to pick it up. Ally watches, unfazed.

"They can all handle themselves, you know."

"I don't like leaving it at just that."

"You have to."

"That's the scary part."

He walks back over to her, holding the bird by its feet. Then, he sets it down on the ground and stands up straight again, his hands on his hips. He looks around, squinting in the sunlight.

"I just don't want anybody getting hurt."

"You're all well-trained," Ally says. "They're fine."

"You're not."

She purses her lips. "And that's why I'm not allowed to go."

He looks at her, and she sees guilt quickly flash across his features. But he covers it quickly. "I've seen a lot on these raids, Ally. Things I don't want you seeing yet, or having to deal with, or risking."

"You said I've been getting better." She keeps her voice calm and even; she isn't in the mood for a fight right now.

"You are," he promises. "You're training and you're improving and that's great. But you also need to learn to _think_. You're still very impulsive, and that'll get you killed as quickly as if you were untrained."

"I'm not impulsive," she argues.

He gives her a look and then shoots another arrow.

"Look," he says after the arrow hits its mark perfectly again, "I just don't want you getting hurt. You know that."

"Right. Which is why you hurt me" – she gestures to the bandages on her neck and arm – "to get that point across."

"Ally – "

"It's fine," she interrupts him. "I don't wanna fight with you."

"That's a first," he jokes half-heartedly.

She gives him a small smile, but he's distracted. She can tell by the unfocused look in his cold hazel eyes. Her smile fades.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asks.

"Like I said, this _really_ needs to go well. We're taking a lot this time."

"I'm sure it'll be fine."

"You haven't been on a raid, Ally. If they see us, that's it. It's a full-blown battle. They aim to kill. And we don't. That gives us a disadvantage. Plus, with so many of us…"

"Take less people," she suggests.

"We need everyone to carry all the stuff we take."

"Right."

He's silent, once again lost in thought. She sighs and decides to leave him be.

She's only taken a few steps towards the weapons table before he stops her. "Hey, Ally?"

She turns around to look at him. "Yeah?"

He takes a couple strides to meet her. "You said you were a lower-class noble, yeah?"

"Mmhm."

"Did you have any, I dunno, colors?"

Her mind goes on overdrive. Sure, she had colors. The royal family in her kingdom is maroon and royal purple. But it's not like she could tell him _that_. It's too obvious.

"Sure. Silver and green," she says the first two colors that pop into her head. "Why?"

He nods. "No reason. And do you…um…" he trails off and scratches the back of his neck. "You don't happen to have some personal item you kept all these years since you ran away, do you? Like a necklace, or a handkerchief, or a ring, or something?"

"Uhh…I brought a scarf," she says. "Why…?"

"Oh, y'know. So, could I maybe, like, have it to, um, take with me on the raid…?"

She blinks at him, then knits her eyebrows together. "Why?"

"Because – because then it'll be like you're there. Isn't that what you'd want?"

"I mean…I guess…"

"So I can take it?"

"If you want…"

"Cool, thanks."

She watches him for a few seconds, and right when she thinks he's dropped the weird conversation, he asks her one more question.

"And you wouldn't mind if I, like…" he trails off, looking at the ground and scratching the back of his neck again. "Foughtinyourname?" he asks quickly.

"Fight…in my name?" She knits her eyebrows together even more, then looks up at him. "Austin…are you _courting_ me?"

"No."

"Wearing my colors, taking something of mine with you, fighting in my name…? That sounds a lot like courting to me."

"I'm not _courting_ you."

"Oh my gosh, you're _courting_ me," she repeats as the realization sets in.

"Don't make a big deal out of it," he mutters.

"You're _courting_ me!"

"Scream it to the whole world, why don't you?!"

She grins, then turns around to face the other side of the river, where people are wandering around or doing their jobs. "Hey, everyone! Austin's courting me!"

A few people look up, but Austin places a large hand over Ally's mouth before she can repeat herself.

"One more word and I will cut your arm off."

She pries his hand away from her mouth. "No you won't; you're courting me," she says cheekily.

"Don't get cheeky, it doesn't mean I like you."

"Then what _does_ it mean? Why _me_?"

The former knight sighs and runs a hand down his face. "Back when I was a knight, or training to be one, I guess, courting always gave me good luck. It's always worked. And I really need good luck on this raid."

"Yeah, but why _me_?"

"Courting is all about placing this – this unattainable lady on a pedestal, higher than you'll ever achieve in all aspects of life. It's not about love or lust or anything – "

"But it's called 'courtly love.' Did you just call me an unattainable lady?"

He rolls his eyes and runs a hand through his hair. "You're good, Ally. Innocent. The kind of ' _lady_ ' who I'd court if I was still a knight. So just try to humor me, yeah?"

"Alright, Moon. I'll be your good luck charm. But it's still weird."

"I told you, I don't _like_ you."

"You're _courting_ me."

"I get it."

"You must be desperate for some good luck, then."

"Mmhm."

"Is this courting gonna be, like, an ongoing thing?"

"If it works, maybe."

"You realize that nine times out of ten the knight and the lady he's courting end up having an affair and making secret love in the night while hiding from the lady's husband and the king, right?"

"I'm aware. We'll just have to be the one in ten."

"If you catch feelings for me – "

"That will _never_ happen. If anything, _you'll_ catch feelings for _me_."

"Oh, please."

"Hey, I'm older, and strong, and tall, and hot, and – "

" _Very_ humble."

"No one's gonna catch feelings for anyone," he says. "Courting only works if you do it right."

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"Be you. I do the rest."

He shoots her a wink and walks off.

He's actually _courting_ her.

And she actually _likes_ it.

* * *

"Use your core!" Austin shouts at her as their swords clang together again. They've been sparring for over an hour, and if she doesn't get a break soon her lunch is going to make a second appearance.

"I can't!" she shouts back in a strained voice, clenching her jaw and trying to fight through the pain in her stomach. But it gets to be too much, and suddenly she's pressed against him, his sword pointed at her neck.

"You gave up," he tells her, letting go of her and wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"I feel like I'm gonna puke," she says, holding her stomach and trying to steady her breathing.

He sighs and rubs her back gently. "You're doing good," he says, offering her his canteen of water. She takes it gratefully.

"Feels like I suck."

"You don't. It takes practice."

She gives back the water and hiccups. "I'm exhausted."

"Oddly enough, I'm not."

"Maybe it's this." She tugs at the green scarf wrapped around his waist. "Why are you wearing this already? The raid isn't for another few days."

"Gotta get used to moving around with it," he says.

"I think you just want everyone to know you're courting me."

"Can you stop saying that so loud?"

"Nah."

"I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of it."

"I've never been courted before."

"It's really not that exciting. If you do it right, anyway."

"Still."

"I think you _want_ to make secret love to me in the night."

"Gross. Don't _ever_ say that again."

He turns to face the other side of the creek, and yells at the top of his lungs, "ALLY WANTS TO HAVE SEX WITH ME!"

 _This_ time, everyone hears it. She turns bright red while he snickers beside her.

"At least mine was _true_ ," she tells him, shoving him as hard as she can.

He doesn't even budge. But she doesn't really care, because when she looks in his eyes, she sees that warmth again.

* * *

At the bonfire that night, at least _five_ people ask her if what Austin said was true. And eventually, all she responds with is, "He's courting me." Then, whoever it is starts laughing at _that_ instead of the rumor that she wants to sleep with him. Needless to say, he ditches the scarf for that night.

They sing songs and tell stories just like they always do, and she feels that familiar sense of warmth throughout her body. She loves these people, even if she hasn't known them very long, and she knows that they love her too. Even Austin, who really must love her the most, because he seems willing to do just about anything to keep her safe.

She yawns and leans her head on his shoulder, a sleepy smile on her face as she keeps her eyes trained on Trish, who's telling a ghost story.

Austin rests his cheek on her head and wraps his arm around her, rubbing her arm to keep her warm. She's instantly comforted by his action and scoots closer to him, as she always seems to do.

And then she falls asleep, as she always seems to do.

When she opens her eyes, it's still dark out. There's no one else around, but she can't have been asleep for that long because the fire is still burning low.

She realizes that her head is still on Austin's shoulder and his arm is still around her, but he's snoring softly, his cheek still smushed against her head and his legs pulled up onto the chair he's sitting in.

She shifts her head on his shoulder, and he in turn shifts in his sleep. She stops moving and stares at the fire for a while, lost in her thoughts.

"We should probably get to bed," she hears his low voice after a few minutes. "Unless you wanna make secret love in the night."

She chuckles tiredly and turns so her nose is pressed into his shoulder, trying to warm it.

"I'll pass," she says.

"But really, we should go."

She turns her head back to face the fire. He doesn't make any move to get up, and neither does she.

"Yeah, we probably should."

Still no movement.

"They say sleeping outside is good for the soul. Connects you with nature."

"Mmhm…" she says, already drifting off to sleep again.

"Could bring me some luck on the raid."

"Mmm…"

"Maybe we should just stay out here."

She doesn't reply, far too tired to make any more comments.

He must think she's already asleep, because he keeps talking in a low whisper. "It's crazy what you're doing to me. I don't usually warm up to people this fast. You're just so easy to like, I just…" He sighs. "I know this whole courting thing is gonna end badly for me, with you being all excited and teasing me and everything that courting essentially means, but…I dunno, I'm still going along with it." He chuckles a bit, and she shifts positions just slightly. "Maybe I'm doing this to myself on purpose, just to punish myself for hurting you so many times since I met you or something. I dunno. I'm not really one for heart-to-hearts. I'll probably never _actually_ say any of this to you, but…man, Ally. You're a piece of work, but I don't think I'd trade you for the world."

She finds herself fighting a smile and decides not to let him know she heard any of that. Instead, she allows herself to drift back to sleep, the gentle movement of Austin's hand up and down her arm more than enough to lull her back into dreamland.

* * *

 **idk this is kind of a lame filler to give me my fix of cuteness for the day, but i hope you enjoyed it nonetheless :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**for cassie, who bothers me nonstop about updating the "stabbingaustin" fic. i love you other half**

* * *

Ally ties a silver handkerchief around Austin's left bicep, tightening it enough that it'll stay, but still loose enough to allow movement.

"Honestly, the guards will be too busy laughing at how ridiculous you look to fight you," she tells him.

"Ridiculous as it may be, the system works," Austin says.

"We'll see about that. So listen, over the past two days I've been training harder than ever, and – "

"Ally, you're still not going. I'm staying firm on this."

She sighs. "But I know I could help – "

" _No_."

"But Austin – "

"Just go to bed, Ally."

"It's still sunset."

Austin takes a deep breath. "You are not coming on this raid." He picks up her hand gently and kisses it. She raises an eyebrow.

"Don't do that." She pulls her hand away from him.

"I'll do it again if you come."

"Fine, I won't come."

He smiles and ruffles her head. "That's my girl." He glances at the colorful sky and then at everyone getting ready for the raid. "Hey, if you want we can go spar for a little bit while everyone finishes getting ready."

"Don't you wanna keep your energy up?"

"Nah, we didn't train at all today. C'mon."

He leads her across the bridge and draws his sword once they get to the meadow. She pulls out hers (which she's been carrying around constantly now) and makes the first move by taking a swipe at his legs.

He taught her to use her shorter height and smaller stature as an advantage when fighting larger people, to aim lower and try to throw her opponent off balance and distract them. But he was expecting it, so he blocks her sword and pulls his upward, catching her blade on top and bringing hers with it. She almost loses her grip.

He aims for her arm, so she blocks it and aims at his shoulder. He ducks and hits her legs with the side of his blade, causing her to stumble. He pushes her down and sits on top of her, smirking at his victory.

"Every _time_ ," she mutters in frustration.

"You have to be more focused, Ally. Not just on _your_ next move, but your opponent's."

He climbs off her and helps her up.

"I'm _trying_ ," Ally replies. "I really am!"

He chuckles. "I know you are, kid. You'll get there. It's just like archery."

"Yeah, well, I suck at that, too."

"Nah," he says, batting his hand. "You just need more practice."

"You've been saying that since I got here."

"And I'll keep saying it till my dying breath."

"Hopefully that won't be soon."

Austin frowns at her, putting his sword away. She avoids his gaze, holding hers with both hands, blade-down in front of her. He gently takes the hilt out of her hands and sets it on the ground, resting his hands on her arms.

"You're really worried, aren't you?"

She glances up at him before looking at the ground. "I wasn't…but then you were talking about how dangerous it is and how you almost lost someone last time and how they want you dead, and then…well, now I am."

"Hey," he says, gently grabbing her chin and lifting her head up to meet his eyes, "we're gonna be fine. Okay? We've done this a million times."

"Promise?"

He gives her a small smile. "Promise. We'll be back before sunrise."

She sighs. "Okay. Be safe."

"We'll try our best."

Ally purses her lips and nods, and Austin wraps his arms around her, resting his chin on her head. She hugs him back tightly, and even though she knows he's probably right, that doesn't mean she likes the idea of them possibly getting killed.

Good thing she has a plan.

* * *

Now that she thinks about it, it's a pretty big accomplishment that she managed to find her way to the kingdom gates without getting lost in the woods.

"Princess Alison!" the gatekeeper exclaims when he sees her.

"Shhh!" she hisses. "I'm back from – "

"Your parents are searching everywhere for you, I – "

"Don't," she interrupts him. "It's all an act. I promise, they know I'm okay. _Please_ don't breathe a word to them."

"But Princess – "

"That's an _order_ ," she says.

The gatekeeper purses his lips. "Alright, Your Highness."

He bows and opens the gate for her, and she walks in.

"Thank you," she says with a nod. "I'll be sure to put in a good word for you with my mother. You really don't get paid enough."

The gatekeeper smiles proudly. "Thank you, Princess."

She gives him a smile and continues walking to the castle.

The streets are dead, as families are already in their homes for the night. She quickens her pace; the others left before her and they have a shorter way to go. She wants to get there before them and see if she can clear away any guards from where they are.

She nods quickly to the guards in front of the castle, who look surprised to see her. She feeds them the same story she told the gatekeeper, and once again they believe her. (Not that they have a choice: whatever royalty says, goes.)

She walks into her old home and looks around. Nothing's changed. On her short trip here with Austin she didn't see much of the castle, only a few hallways between the closet where the secret passage lets out and the garden. So looking around now feels a bit strange. She's never been away from home this long.

She imagines her parents sleeping three floors above her, then imagines her room five floors up. If she hurries, she could grab a few more things, maybe rush down to the kitchen for food, and –

No. She has a job to do.

She perks up at the faint sound of yelling down the hallway. Her eyes widen and she sprints toward the voices, slowing down around the corner. She peeks around the edge of the wall and sees her worst nightmare.

A full-blown battle has ensued between the outlaws and the guards. Swords are clashing left and right, there's blood staining the tile, and a few people (all guards, thankfully) lay unconscious on the ground. No one seems to be dead, however, so that's at least good news.

She quickly surveys the fighting and sees that the outlaws are outnumbered, but not by much anymore. Still, it's not looking great.

Her eye catches the glint of an arrow. She follows the line of fire and sees that the guard holding it is aiming at an unknowing Austin, who's busy fighting another guard with his sword. Her eyes widen and she pulls her bow off her back, grabbing an arrow from her quiver and aiming.

She takes a deep breath, focuses, and fires.

Unfortunately, the arrow simply whizzes past the guard's head and lands on the ground.

Fortunately, it distracted him long enough for her to charge at him with her sword.

Unfortunately, she panics when she gets close to him.

Fortunately, in her panic she hits him on the head with the butt of her sword, hard enough to knock him unconscious.

His body crumples to the ground at her feet, and she bites her lip before looking around again.

Almost everyone is staring at her, guards unconscious at her feet. She hears one more yell – one that sounds suspiciously like her name – and a _thud_ , and turns her head to see one more guard fall in front of Austin.

"Guys, c'mon, let's…guys?" he says, turning around. His eyes meet Ally's, and his face contorts into a look of pure _outrage_.

She gives him a small, nervous wave.

" _What_ are you doing here?!" he exclaims, storming over to her. She opens her mouth, but he cuts her off. "No, you know what? I'm not even surprised. _Of course_ you're here. You couldn't even listen to me _one time_ , when your _life_ depends on it. I – I can't _believe_ you, Ally! Except I can. I think that's the worst of it."

"I saved your life," she tries weakly. "A…a guard was aiming at you with an arrow, and I knocked him out…you're welcome…?"

Austin runs a hand through his hair. "Go," he says to everyone else. They immediately scatter to do their assigned jobs for the raid. He grabs her arm and drags her off down the hall to, if she remembers correctly (and she should, considering she's lived here for nineteen years and was _just_ here a week or two ago) the kitchen.

"How did you even get here?!" he hisses, his grip on her arm like iron. "Actually, I don't even wanna know. What I _do_ wanna know is how you could be so _stupid_!"

"I…well…I just…" she fumbles for her words, so afraid _of_ him and _for_ him that she can't think straight. "I'm sorry," she blurts.

"You're _sorry_ ," he repeats with a dry chuckle. "You know, Ally, I've let a lot of things slide with you, but this – _this_ , I'm not sure I can let go."

"Wh-what're you gonna do?" she asks nervously.

"I haven't decided yet."

He drags her silently to the kitchen and after knocking the guard unconscious without any struggle, he begins stuffing as much food as he can into his three large bags. Bread, canned goods, crackers, cakes, cookies, flour, and just about any other unperishable he can find.

She decides not to just stand there, so she walks over to the cabinet where she knows the cooks keep all the canned soup they use for their own dinners and starts packing as many cans as possible into her own small bag. Austin gives her a small glance before continuing his work.

The silence is tense, and she hates it. But she also knows that if she speaks he'll just get angrier, so she keeps quiet and packs her bag full of soup, keeping watch at the door when she's finished.

A few minutes later, he grabs her arm again and drags her to the hallway with the still-unconscious guards, and she thanks her lucky starts that they haven't run into anyone else. She doesn't need him finding out her secret to add to his fury.

Everyone else comes back in ones and twos, and once they're all together again they leave through the secret tunnel. Austin hangs in back, his grip still tight on her arm so she can't blend in with everyone else.

But that doesn't mean she can't hear them whispering about her, about how crazy she is for sneaking off like that, about how pissed Austin must be, about who's going to speak at her funeral.

She swallows and debates reminding Austin that she did, in fact, save his life tonight.

He speaks before she does. "You realize that I am _this_ close to _actually_ killing you right now."

"The courting seemed to work, and you can't court a dead lady," she tells him.

He runs his free hand through his hair. "You're _seriously_ making jokes right now?"

"It's my defense mechanism."

"You're scared?"

"I'm not scared of anything."

Austin sighs. "What you pulled tonight…" He shakes his head. "It's _insane_. Stupid. Ridiculous. Unacceptable. Quite possibly the dumbest stunt you've ever tried. And you actually tried _beating_ me at a _sword_ fight."

She doesn't look at him, keeping her head down as his grip on her arm tightens.

"I _forbade_ you from coming, yet you came anyway. Alone. You could be _dead_ right now, Ally."

He surprises her once again by stopping in the tunnel and hugging her tightly. She sighs in relief and hugs him back.

"I'm so mad at you right now I can hardly think straight," he says in her ear quietly. Then, he buries his face in her shoulder. "I'm glad you're okay."

She closes her eyes and remembers the panic she felt when she saw the guard aiming to kill Austin. "I'm glad you're okay, too," she whispers.

"Thanks for saving my life," he mumbles, barely even audible.

"Guess we're even now."

He tightens his grip around her. "I hate you," he tells her, pulling away enough to look at her but still keeping his grip around her waist. " _Never_ pull something like that again, understand me?!"

She nods, hoping in her mind that she won't ever have to, that he'll have more faith in her next time and let her come along.

He hugs her once more before grapping her hand firmly in his and pulling her along to catch up with the others.

He doesn't let go of her hand till they get back to camp.

* * *

So, her big punishment: she has to spend all of the next day finishing applying the plant paste to the trees instead of Austin, and after that she isn't allowed to do anything except archery (which she's grown to loathe after practicing it so much), and she has to go straight to bed after dinner, without attending the bonfire. Also, Austin's instructed everyone to give her the silent treatment all day, and all _he_ says to her are announcements of meals and the occasional correction on her archery if he sees her making a mistake.

All in all, her day _sucks_.

But she does get time to think, and she thinks about a lot.

Mainly, she thinks about Austin. He's still angry at her, but she thinks it goes deeper than that. He saw the absolute _fear_ in his eyes when he found her at the castle, heard it dripping from his voice in every word he said to her last night. He was _terrified_ of something happening to her. And considering that Dez, Piper, _and_ Chuck are all bedridden for the next few days from wounds, she can kind of see why.

Still, lately he's become more protective of her than of anyone else. And at this point, she doesn't think it's just because of her age or because she's the newbie. She's almost positive there's something deeper there, something _else_ fueling his incentive to keep her safe. She isn't complaining, of course, but she'd like to know what it is.

And thinking about him and his need to protect her brings her mind to her _other_ point of concern pertaining to Austin: what _she_ feels for him. Because he may be annoying and nagging and slightly scary when he's mad at her like he was last night, but she can't deny that he's attractive and strong and – despite his cold exterior – caring and sweet and, dare she say it, actually _funny_ sometimes. Not to mention that his need to protect her just makes him even _more_ attractive, which at first feels strange to her because she's a very I-can-protect-myself kind of girl.

Still, the idea of a tall, blond, strong knight in shining armor courting her and rescuing her from her crazy parents is a very nice thought.

She's very hesitant to admit it, even to herself, but she knows she likes him. She also knows that he's three and a half years older than her and way out of her league (although with him being a knight and her being a princess it's technically the other way around, but those titles don't have any standing out here). But despite that, she still holds onto the hope that somehow, some way, he could actually like her too.

So really, her day isn't _that_ bad, because while she may have to finish her boring tree-painting job and then shoot so many arrows her arms go numb, she gets all day to wrap herself in fantasies of riding off into the sunset with a certain former knight.

* * *

 **and the plot thickens...? Also, happy birthday to RLKS123! Thank you so much for your sweet reviews and for loving my story as much as I do! :D**


	10. Chapter 10

After her day of punishment, when everyone is allowed to talk to her again, she becomes quite popular.

"What did he _say_ to you yesterday?" Trish asks her as they pick fruit from the orchard.

"That he wanted to kill me, and that he wasn't sure if he'd forgive me," Ally replies, carefully placing an apple in her basket. "But he said he's glad I'm okay. He looked terrified."

"Well, yeah. He can't court someone who's dead," Trish says, nudging her playfully.

Ally grins, despite the headache that's been bothering her for the past hour. "That's what I said!"

"He seems quite fond of you. You know, courting you and all, plus being so keen on keeping you safe from everything and everyone. Except him, of course."

Ally chuckles and rolls her eyes. "Yeah, seems to be that way. But I didn't think he could be fond of _anyone_."

"I dunno," Trish says, her eyes twinkling knowingly. "I think you've thrown him for a loop."

"Yeah?" Ally asks, trying to hide the blush forming on her cheeks.

"Oh, yeah. I can't think of anyone else he'd be so lenient with. And I _definitely_ don't think he'd let anyone sass him the way you do without nearly killing them."

"Well, technically – "

"Minor details," Trish says, rolling her eyes and climbing onto a stepstool to reach the higher branches of an orange tree. "All I'm saying is that you've changed him. And honestly, I think it's for the better."

"Well, I do tend to have that effect on people. Hey, can we take a little…" Ally trails off and holds her now-pounding head, feeling dizzy.

Trish quickly steps off the stool and hurries to Ally's side. "Are you okay?" she asks.

"I – yeah," Ally replies. "Just a little…whoa." She grips her stomach, now feeling nauseous as well.

She wipes the sweat collecting on her forehead and leans on Trish for support.

"Here, drink some water," Trish says, shoving Ally's canteen in her hands. Ally obeys, and Trish helps her sit down under one of the trees.

Trish feels her forehead, and then the back of her neck. "Keep drinking that," she instructs Ally. "I'll be right back."

The curly-haired girl runs to the edge of the orchard and calls for help. Ally keeps drinking the water, but it doesn't seem to help much.

Then she hears Austin's voice mingling with Trish's, asking what happened and what's going on.

"I – I don't know," Trish tells him. "She told me earlier she had a headache, but just now she started looking really dizzy and nauseous and nearly collapsed. I don't know if she's dehydrated or what, but she's sweating and burning up."

"She's drinking water?" Austin asks as they approach her.

"Probably not enough."

"Guys, I'm…I'm fine," Ally says weakly, trying to get up. But just the slightest movement makes her feel faint, so she stops.

She closes her eyes and sets the empty canteen next to her, and then she feels Austin's large, calloused hand on her forehead. He curses under his breath.

"Heat exhaustion," he tells Trish. "Ally? Stay with me, okay?"

"More water?" Ally replies.

Austin hands her his canteen and she opens her eyes just enough so she can take it from him before closing them again and drinking his water.

"I'm gonna take her to the woods, where it's cooler. Fill a few more canteens, and then soak a bunch of towels in the stream. Hurry."

Ally hears Trish's footsteps as she runs off, and then she feels Austin's arms under her as he picks her up bridal style.

"Keep drinking, you're gonna be fine," Austin says, beginning to walk with her in his arms.

Ally does as she's told, feeling more and more nauseous with each step Austin takes.

After a few minutes, he sets her down. She opens her eyes and sees the canopy of trees above her providing the shade she's under. Trish runs over, her arms full of canteens and wet towels. Austin kneels at Ally's side, taking the towels from Trish. He places one on her forehead, one under her neck, and one on her feet after he takes her shoes off. He gently pulls her shirt up as far as it can go without revealing anything and places a towel on her stomach as well. She closes her eyes again, still fighting the nausea.

Every once in a while, Austin wets the towels again with the water from the canteens. Ally knows Trish went back to her job, but Austin and his quiet whispers that she'll be okay is plenty for her.

"How're you feeling?" Austin whispers after a while.

"A little better," Ally replies weakly.

"Can you sit up enough to drink a little more water?"

Ally nods and sits up slowly. Austin helps to support her back and hands her a canteen. She gulps the water thirstily, and once it's empty, she hands it back to Austin. Then, she leans over to the side he's not on and throws up her breakfast. The blond holds her hair and rubs her back, using one of the damp towels to keep her cool.

"You're not quite used to the heat yet," he whispers. "You're so used to being under the trees all the time. We'll be more careful from now on, ease you into it."

She's thankful that he isn't blaming this on her, thankful that he's here, helping her, not speaking too much and focusing on helping her get better.

"Better?" he asks once she lies back down.

"My stomach feels a little better."

"Well, that's a start." He pours more water on the towels and adjusts them for her. Then, he splashes some on her face, and she smiles slightly.

"Guess you're like my knight in shining armor."

"Nah," he whispers. "Just your friend. Besides, you said so yourself: I can't court you if you're dead."

She smiles more and he chuckles.

"You good if I get back to work?" he asks her.

"I guess…But I'd rather you stay."

"That's a first," Austin teases quietly. But she feels him shift next to her, and then he splashes more water on her face.

At some point, Trish comes back, and Austin instructs her to clean up the vomit. She does, but she complains the whole time.

Well, until Austin tells her to shut up because Ally winces at every whiny word she says.

After about an hour, Ally's feeling much better. She starts sitting up, and Austin helps her.

"You okay?"

She nods. "Thank you."

Austin hands her another canteen, and she drinks more. "You know," the blond says, "you've really gotta stop scaring me like this."

She looks at him, bringing the canteen away from her lips. "I am so sorry I scared you with my heat exhaustion. I'll try not to do it again."

Austin chuckles. "I appreciate it."

She continues drinking her water, and Austin's small smile fades. "You're sure you're okay?" he asks.

She nods as she finishes the water. "Still kinda weak, but a lot better."

"Alright, well…just sit in the shade for the rest of the day, okay? Do you wanna eat something?"

She shakes her head. "I'll wait a little longer, just in case."

"Okay…" he says, sounding unsure and still pretty worried.

She finds it cute just how scared he gets for her.

"Will you stay with me?" Ally asks. "No one talked to me yesterday and I don't wanna be lonely again."

"I should really get back to work – "

"Please?" She gives him her best princess puppy dog eyes, and she sees him give in before he speaks.

"Fine."

She smiles and scoots back so she's sitting next to him as he leans against a tree. He looks over at her and chuckles.

"Tell me a story," she tells him.

"A story?"

"Mmhm. About you being a knight. Or about a raid. Or anything."

"Hmm…a story…" Austin says. "Well, about a year ago, there were like _thirty_ carriages passing through the woods to get to your old kingdom."

Ally immediately knows what he's talking about. Her eighteenth birthday had been a _huge_ celebration, as it's meant to be when princesses begin searching for a prince to marry when they're twenty. Royal families came from all over with suitors hoping to win Ally's attention.

She remembers faking a stomach bug and sneaking upstairs early.

"Huh. I didn't see them. Do you know why they were going?" she asks him.

"As far as we could tell, it was a celebration of some sort. Nobles, of course. There were a bunch of expensive gifts in the carriages. Anyway, it was practically a raiding buffet for us, y'know?"

She nods, smiling at the way he uses hand gestures when he talks.

"So there we are, hiding out in the trees and watching all these carriages come closer. There's no way we'll be able to catch all of them, but we still wanna _try_. Then, yours truly comes up with a _genius_ plan."

Austin nudges her with a smile, and she smiles wider.

"When the horses were drinking at the stream near where we were, I walked over to this big, rotting tree about a half mile up the path from them and I took my sword and started hacking away at it." He holds one hand on top of the other in fists as if he's holding his sword and makes a motion to convey the way he was cutting the tree. "And then it fell," he continues, "right into the road."

"And then what happened?" she asks, so engrossed in his storytelling that she doesn't even dial back her eagerness to hear the rest.

"Well, then everyone else caught up with me and realized my plan, so we all got into position. The carriages came riding up, and sure enough, they stopped in front of the tree to try to figure out what to do. They couldn't go around it of course: the carriages would've toppled over. And they obviously couldn't go over or under, which meant they'd have to move it.

"So all the drivers and guards gathered around at the tree and just stared at it, talking to each other. Meanwhile, we went to each of the carriages, say two of us per carriage, and told the poor, terrified nobles to be quiet and give us everything they had or we'd kill them with the weapons we made sure were quite visible."

"That's terrible!" Ally exclaims, giggling in delight at the thought of a terrifying-looking Austin (and everyone else, of course) brandishing their weapons for the stuck-up suitors and robbing them of everything except the shirts off their backs.

"Aw, we weren't _actually_ gonna hurt them," Austin says. "Maybe knock 'em out if they didn't cooperate, but it wouldn't have done any _real_ damage. Anyway, they all _did_ cooperate, and after we looted them we still had one problem: the guards and drivers were coming back, and there was no way we'd get back to camp before they caught up to us."

"And they shoot to kill," Ally reminds him.

"Yes they do," he agrees with a nod. He pulls his knees to his chest and rests his elbows on top of them, and Ally grips his arm in suspense ( _not_ because she wants to feel his bicep). "So we all started _sprinting_ back to camp, but they chased us, so we couldn't go back, and we all split up."

Ally's eyes widen. Something about the intense tone of his voice and the way his dark eyes are completely focused on her makes the story even more exciting.

"I had five guys on me alone, probably because they recognized me from my Wanted poster."

"But you said they were from other kingdoms."

"They were. I'm wanted in…I think eight different kingdoms. But who's counting, right?"

"Wow," Ally says, sounding a little _too_ impressed for her liking.

"So, these five guys are shooting arrows left and right, I think one even threw a knife or two, and I'm zigzagging through the trees and jumping over logs and doing just about _anything_ to get them off my trail. But then I feel this _shooting_ pain on the back of my left shoulder. Turns out I got shot."

Ally gasps, terrified at just the _idea_ of him getting shot. It seems impossible; he's practically invincible. But apparently even the strongest of heroes (or outlaws) get wounded.

"So I reached behind me and yanked out that arrow," he continues. "Fortunately only the shaft came out and the arrowhead didn't, or I probably wouldn't be alive right now. I kept running, now gushing blood, and eventually I lost them. Luckily, I knew where I was, and I wasn't far from camp, so I circled around and went home. Dez and Trish fixed me up, and here I am. I still have a scar, though."

"I wanna see!" Ally exclaims.

Austin chuckles. "Fine, fine."

He turns so his back is to her and pulls his shirt over his head. After getting distracted for a few seconds by his muscular back, she looks at his left shoulder and finds a jagged, red scar cutting across his otherwise smooth skin. Of course, there are other noticeable scars on his back, but this one seems to be on its own in the midst of unharmed skin. Ally brushes her fingers over it and Austin shivers.

"Did that hurt?" she asks, biting her lip.

"No," he says with a chuckle.

"Looks painful."

"It was."

She removes her hand and he puts his shirt back on before turning to lean against the tree again.

"So there's my exciting story."

"It was _very_ exciting," Ally promises. "I'm glad you didn't die."

"You better be. If I was dead, no one would've been there to save you from that bear."

"I still could've saved myself."

" _Sure_ you could've."

"I could've!"

"Okay, kid." He wraps an arm around her neck and pulls her down in a sort of choke hold, ruffling her hair.

"Hey!" she exclaims as he lets her go. She fixes her hair. "You know, it's condescending when you call me that."

"It's cute," he says. "It's endearing."

"Because _I'm_ cute and endearing?"

"Sure," he says with a smile. "When you're not annoying the crap out of me or pissing me off or nearly getting yourself killed."

He laughs when she whacks his chest, and she can't help but notice that _this_ Austin feels kind of new. He's completely teasing and cute and friendly without any underlying coldness or uncertainty. She likes it a lot.

He hopes he likes the teasing and cute and friendly side of her, too, because she's been noticing that she's been acting like that more and more around him, and it's only a matter of time before he figures out her feelings.

* * *

 **wHAT?! TWO DAYS IN A ROW?! It's been a while since I did that lol but hey I got time and inspiration so WASSUP I'm sure you guys don't mind, right? anyway I hope you guys liked the chapter and please leave a review!**


	11. Chapter 11

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Ally asks Austin as she sits next to him at the table. Everyone's finishing their breakfast, and she hasn't even started yet.

"I was gonna, but you were so exhausted and I figured I should let you rest after what happened yesterday. Plus, you're cute when you're sleeping."

"I didn't know shameless flirting was part of courting," Ally mutters, grabbing an apple out of the basket on the table.

"Courting has no rules," Austin says with a grin.

"You said there were lots of rules."

"I've heard it both ways."

"Clearly, which means so have I."

"Oh well."

Ally eats her apple and watches as everyone slowly leaves the table to go do their jobs for the day.

"So, when are we training again?" she asks Austin.

"What makes you think I wanna keep training you after what you did on the raid?"

"So that eventually I'll be allowed to come with you and I'll be able to defend myself."

Austin's silent for a moment. "Good point. After lunch. It looks kinda cloudy today."

Ally looks at the sky and nods. "Hey, what do you guys do when it rains here?"

"Hang inside."

"Ah."

"Anyway, I should go get _some_ work done today. Catch you later." He ruffles her hair and stands up, and she waits for him to leave before sighing and letting her head fall on the table.

She's still exhausted. She got hardly any sleep last night (or the night before) because all she could think about was him and his smile and his laugh and his need to protect her and _him_. She's never liked anyone before, and now she understands why.

It really sucks.

She finishes her apple and stands up. She and Trish are in charge of searching for firewood today, so she meets Trish at the cave entrance to the camp, and together they walk out into the woods.

"So, Austin said you're feeling better."

"Yeah, much better."

"That's good. You and Austin have been pretty close lately."

"Yeah," Ally agrees. "Especially with this courting thing. It feels like we're almost inseparable."

"Are you enjoying that?"

"I mean, it's nice most of the time. But when he's mad at me it's a little rough."

"Like he has been for the past two days?"

"Yep, pretty much."

Both of them giggle, and then they walk in silence, occasionally picking up a log or some dry leaves.

"So…" Trish says after a while. "You've also been kinda flirty with him."

"Have I?"

"More than you used to."

"I'm not trying."

"I know you're not." Trish chuckles. "You like him?"

"It's not obvious, is it?"

"No, don't worry," Trish promises with a smile. "I'm just observant."

"Isn't he?"

"Yeah, but he's not really used to interacting with girls who like him. He doesn't know the signs. Trust me, he's about as oblivious as he could get. That's cute you like him."

"I guess," Ally says. "But I'll never have a chance with him."

"What makes you say that?"

"First of all, he's way older than me."

"Only like three and a half years. That's not _that_ much."

"He also hates me most of the time," Ally reminds her.

"Nah, he could never hate you."

"He's also heartless and soulless and nothing but cold and emotionless ice."

Trish giggles. "That's not true either."

Ally knows it isn't, but the last thing she needs right now is hope.

"I dunno, I just…I don't see it ever happening."

"Maybe someday. But you're right, probably not anytime soon."

Ally's heart falls a bit at hearing that from someone who knows him so well, but she does her best to hide her disappointment.

"It's just a stupid little crush," she tells Trish. "Probably just because he's courting me and my mind is reading too far into it."

"You say it like it's this big, official thing."

"Well, it is. He told me."

"Still, you sound funny saying it," Trish says with a chuckle.

"He _looked_ even funnier wearing that stuff to the raid."

"I bet you thought it was cute."

"No, just funny. C'mon, Trish. I'm not some cheesy little teenager with a crush. I am a mature adult who – "

"Have you seen his abs yet?"

"I _wish_ ," Ally says immediately. Then she glares at Trish. "Well…I _am_ a teenager!"

"Hey, I'm not judging," Trish says, holding up her hands in mock surrender. "Just try not to be too disappointed if he lets you down, yeah?"

"Trust me, I've gone over that scenario about a million times in my head. I'll be ready for just about anything he throws at me."

"Well, that's good," Trish says. "I'm sure he'd be very proud of how mature you're being about it."

"Thank you," Ally replies, giving her friend a nod.

For the rest of the morning they talk about anything and everything as they gather firewood. And for a while, Ally actually _forgets_ about Austin. She didn't realize how nice it is to have a friend like Trish she can talk to freely without worrying about princess manners or pissing her off or _anything_. She feels like a huge weight is lifted off her shoulders.

* * *

Trish and Ally get back in time to eat lunch with the others, and after they're finished Ally heads straight to the clearing with Austin to train more.

"Remember what I've been telling you," Austin instructs her.

"Right. Catch them off balance, stay focused, and pay attention to what my opponent's doing and not just what I'm doing."

"And?"

"Oh, and don't die," Ally adds.

Austin grins. "Good. You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

"That doesn't sound very confident."

"It's not."

Austin rolls his eyes and draws his sword. She draws hers too.

They fight for a while, getting about an equal amount of near-hits. At one point Ally trips him, but he manages to catch his balance quickly and resume fighting with hardly a hitch.

Ally starts getting tired, and her fighting gets weaker and sloppier. Eventually, Austin just grabs her sword from her hand, and she doesn't even put up a fight.

"Come _on_ , Ally."

"I'm _tired_ ," she complains.

"You're gonna be tired in battle too. You gotta keep fighting. What if I was a guard? You'd be dead."

"But you're _not_ a guard."

Austin sighs. "Are you okay? Usually you love this."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ally says, kicking the grass at her feet lightly. "Just tired."

"Tired?"

"Yeah. I haven't been sleeping well."

"How come?"

"Just…thinking."

"I'm sorry. But you still gotta work. C'mon, kid."

Ally sighs and takes a swig of water before drawing her sword again.

They practice for another two hours, and then Austin sends Ally to the woods to rest in the shade. She tries to argue, but he doesn't budge, telling her that he doesn't want her getting sick again and now he's even _more_ worried about her.

So that's how she finds herself pacing in the woods, bored out of her mind, with no job to do and no one to talk to.

She feels like she's being punished again.

After a few minutes, she decides that she's fine and she walks out to where Dez seems to be struggling with washing the dishes over a pot with dish soap from the castle and hot water in it.

"Need some help?" she asks him.

"No, I got it," he says, picking up a dish he dropped in the dirt. "Do you think I should clean this again?"

"Yeah, probably," Ally says with a giggle.

Dez sighs and washes the dish again. "So, you and Austin are okay again?"

"Yeah, I think so," Ally replies. "He just _really_ wants me to be safe."

"Yeah, that's weird for him. I dunno. Of course he doesn't wanna see _any_ of us hurt, but…with you, it's like _double_. I bet if you got a papercut he'd throw a fit and ban paper from the camp."

Ally chuckles. "It does seem a bit over the top. Do you know why?"

"Nope. All I know is that if anyone ever questions any of his decisions regarding you and your safety, he blows a gasket."

"Well, you're his best friend. Any ideas?"

"Maybe you remind him of someone from home or something."

"Maybe," Ally agrees. "Or maybe this whole courting thing has gone to his head. That's my theory."

"But he was protective of you _before_ he started courting you."

"Then I got nothing." Ally shrugs.

"Well, I'll let you know if he says anything. Doubt he will, though. You know how he is."

Ally smiles. "Yeah. See you later, Dez."

Ally waves and walks away. She hears a clash and Dez's cursing, and she decides _not_ to turn around again, afraid of what she'll see. Instead, she walks across the bridge and starts practicing her archery, still determined to get as good as Austin.

Her arms are sore from the other day, but she doesn't let that stop her.

She sees Austin walk over out of her peripheral, and she tries even harder to hit the bullseye of the target.

Unfortunately, that doesn't go too well.

"C'mon, you can do better than that," Austin says with a chuckle when her arrow misses the target entirely.

"That was a fluke."

"Yeah, yeah. Wanna go for a walk?"

"You actually want me to _stop_ training?"

"I wanna talk to you."

"Uh oh."

Ally sets down her bow and arrows and walks with Austin.

"Uh oh is right. I wanna talk to you about the raid."

"Haven't we talked about it enough?"

"No."

The pair walks across the bridge, and Ally sighs. "Look, I'm sorry I snuck out and came with you. I know it was stupid and I could've gotten killed, but – "

" _Why_ did you do it?"

"I couldn't just stay here _alone_!"

"Why not?"

"I was bored. And I wanted to help."

"We didn't need your help."

"Still," Ally says.

They make their way past the table and into the woods.

"I just…I still can't believe you would do that."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I'm the worst."

"I'm serious! I _told_ you not to – "

"And I did it anyway. What're you gonna do, kick me out now? You punished me and I learned my lesson."

"So you're not gonna do it again?"

"Hopefully you'll just let me come next time."

"About that…you're not coming next time."

" _What_?!"

"I don't want you coming on the next raid either."

"You don't even know when that'll be!"

"Ally, quit yelling."

"No! I'll yell all I want! This isn't _fair_ , Austin!"

"Well, clearly you aren't mature enough to do something so dangerous yet!" he fires back, raising his voice.

"I didn't even get a scratch last time!"

"But you snuck out, which clearly means you don't know how to follow orders! If you can't even stay here, how can I expect you to do what I say when your life depends on it?!"

"Maybe I'd be able to have faith in you if I knew you had faith in me!"

"I _do_ have faith in you!"

"Really?! Because it doesn't seem like it! All you do is baby me and treat me like this little kid who can't do anything because all I'll do is hurt myself! You say you don't care about my age, but I think that's a load of bull crap!"

" _Ally_ – "

" _No_! You _know_ what I'm saying is true! You don't believe in me! You say you're trying to protect me, and maybe you are, but I think you're more concerned about protecting everyone else!" As she yells at him, the pieces fit together in her head. "I _am_ a burden, aren't I?! That's all I really am to you! Just weight on your shoulders that'll do nothing but bring everyone down if you let me near anything important! That's why you won't let me do anything! You think I'll ruin it!"

"That's not – "

"It is! And all that stuff about courting, it…it was just to make me feel _special_ , wasn't it?! Just so I'd think that I was important when I'm not, so I'd think I _help_ the group when I don't, to keep me distracted so I don't realize what you're really doing! Well, I'm not as dumb as you think, Austin! I know _exactly_ what you're doing!"

"You do _not_ – "

"I _hate_ you!" she exclaims, getting the feeling of déjà vu. His face contorts into that familiar look of outrage, and she opens her mouth to keep yelling at him.

But he doesn't let her.

He grabs her face and crashes his lips onto hers, effectively shutting her up. His eyes are squeezed shut, but hers are wide with surprise. He's… _kissing_ her?

Once the realization sets in, Ally finds herself relaxing into him, closing her eyes and kissing him back.

He wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her into him, deepening the kiss and at the same time being gentler. The anger radiating off him dissipates, and now all she feels is raw emotion. Goosebumps rise on her skin.

She rests her hands on his chest, gripping his shirt tightly. She's never kissed anyone before, and while she's slightly afraid that she's going about it all wrong, all she's _really_ thinking about is how good his lips feel on hers.

He starts tugging on the hem of her shirt, and at first she's confused, but when she realizes what he wants she pulls away just enough to help him pull it over her head before kissing him again, a smile slowly forming across her face.

Is it weird that she's smiling? Is _any_ of this weird? She isn't particularly sure. But she also doesn't particularly care.

Austin chuckles lowly against her lips, slowly snaking his arms around her waist again. He rubs his warm hands up and down her back, seeming to set fires everywhere he touches her bare skin. Ally wraps her arms around his neck to pull him closer to her, and he doesn't object.

She remembers Trish talking about his abs and instead moves her hands to the hem of his shirt, but he grabs her hands in his to stop her.

"That's not fair," she whispers, pulling away slightly.

Austin intertwines their fingers and kisses her again for a few seconds before humming against her lips, "Since when am I ever fair?"

Ally shivers and he wraps his arms around her waist again, and instantly she warms up. He reconnects their lips, lighter and gentler now. He rubs her back and kisses her slowly, but this more than anything else is what makes her feel pure bliss. She sighs into him, and he pulls away to kiss the corner of her mouth.

"Don't tell me this is just part of the whole courting thing," she mumbles.

He kisses her and pulls away again, and then kisses her and pulls away again, and then does it again and again and again until her head spins. She feels the lazy smirk growing on his lips with each kiss.

He finally pulls away, leaving Ally's lips tingling and her brain fuzzy. His arms are still around her waist, his hands flattened against her back.

She opens her eyes to look at him, and she watches as he slowly opens his.

They stare at each other in silence. The silence isn't uncomfortable, but it's so intense that everyone outside the forest _must_ be able to hear the electricity anxiously crackling around them. Even the birds in the trees are quiet, and not even the slightest rustle of a leaf can be heard.

But then Austin's eyes shift, and he knits his eyebrows together as he looks down at her right shoulder. She's so dazed from his head-spinning kiss that she doesn't even bother caring what he's looking at.

He starts rubbing at the spot between her collar bone and her shoulder with his thumb, and then he frowns and licks his thumb before doing it again.

"Um…" Ally says, finally breaking that silence to end all silences.

"What _is_ that?" Austin asks before she can say anything else, completely ignoring what just occurred between them.

Ally doesn't even have to look at what he's talking about to understand. Her Royal Mark. He's staring right at it. She got so caught up in kissing him that she _completely_ forgot about hiding it.

"Well – "

Austin rubs at it again, harder than before.

"Ow," Ally says with a wince.

"It's not coming off. Is that a birthmark? It looks like a sun."

"Yes…" Ally says.

"It looks familiar."

Ally racks her brain to try to remember if knights know about Royal Marks. She knows that the Royals study Royal Marks in order to use them to be able to tell fellow Royals apart from commoners should the need for such a way to differentiate arise. But knights? She isn't sure.

Austin meets her eyes.

"That – that's a Royal Mark."

Well, that answers her question.

"From that kingdom," he continues. "Egaia, right? You're – you're a Royal?"

He sounds confused, almost heartbroken, in complete disbelief.

"I – "

Suddenly his eyes darken and he draws his sword from its sheath at his side. Before she can continue, she's pinned against a tree with the point of his sword in her neck.

"You're the princess!" he exclaims, sounding more furious than ever before. "You _lied_ to me!"

She shuts her eyes tightly and clenches her jaw, lifting her chin to try to avoid his sword and fighting the tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

" _Why_ did you lie to me?!" he shouts, causing her to wince.

"I – I thought you would kill me," she chokes out.

"I don't kill people!"

"When we first met." A few tears _do_ manage to escape, and she feels the hot trails they leave on her cheeks.

"How long were you _really_ out here before I met you?!"

"Three days," she manages.

Austin digs his sword deeper into her neck, drawing blood. She takes a ragged breath.

"And after you got to know me…you still lied?!"

"I knew you'd…do this…" she gasps, each breath she takes causing the wickedly sharp sword to prick her neck and draw more blood.

"You're a _princess_!"

"I'm…sorry…" she chokes, and then he lets her go, not giving her another word before storming away.

* * *

 **Okay, NOW'S when the plot thickens ;) I hope you guys liked the chapter! Three days in a row omg I DON'T KNOW WHO I AM ANYMORE! (I'm gonna try to finish this before the end of break...maybe I'll try for four days? Probably won't happen, sorry haha)**


	12. Chapter 12

It's been three days since Austin last spoke to Ally. Three days since their argument, three days since he found out she's a princess.

It's killing her.

It doesn't seem like he's told anyone else, which is good. But also bad. Very, very _bad_. Because Austin Moon always, _always_ has a plan. And if he doesn't, he _makes_ one. Which means that if he hasn't told anyone yet, he has something else stirring concerning her secret. And that thought alone is enough to chill her to the bone.

But she does her best to continue her work as usual. She still practices archery for two hours per day and she reviews her swordplay for another hour after lunch. Dez and Trish have been making time to spar with her for a little bit, but training with them isn't the same as training with Austin.

She can actually _beat_ them.

Trish told her that it's because Austin's the best sword fighter around, and because she's been training with him the whole time, everyone else seems easy in comparison. Ally believes it, and it just makes her wish Austin would talk to her again even more.

On the other hand, him talking to her means him voicing his anger, and that usually leads to her getting cut somewhere, and that's never good.

She _hates_ this.

"So…things between you and Austin have been…tense," Trish says as she and Ally sew blankets in the shade.

"Have they?" Ally asks, playing dumb.

"Uh, yeah. When was the last time you two spoke?"

"Three days ago…"

"Exactly. You two disappeared into the woods, and after that something changed. What _happened_?"

"He kissed me," Ally admits, not wanting to lie to Trish but also not wanting her to know the full truth.

"He _what_?!" Trish exclaims.

Ally finds herself blushing at the memory. "He…he kissed me. A lot."

"And you waited till _now_ to tell me?! Please, I need details!"

"There isn't much to tell," Ally says, smiling wistfully. "I dunno. We were arguing like we always do, and it was about at the point where he'd usually pull his sword on me, but instead he just grabbed my face and kissed me."

"Did you love it?!" Trish squeals. "This is amazing!"

"Yeah…it was pretty amazing…" Ally trails off, her smile fading as she remembers that she and Austin are currently _not_ on speaking terms.

"Wait…then why aren't you two talking?"

"Well, it got kinda intense – "

" _What_?!"

"I mean, not really, I just…" Ally sighs. "The point is, it's just a little awkward now. Neither of us are really the _feelings_ type, so we both kinda need some space from each other to figure things out."

"I guess that makes sense," Trish decides. But to Ally, she doesn't look completely satisfied. Still, they both continue their work in a comfortable silence.

Every so often, Ally steals a glance at Austin, who's been in the clearing across the bridge doing everything from pacing to shooting arrows to just lying in the grass and staring at the sky.

She knows she has to talk to him soon enough, and she's about ready to just get it over with.

"Do you think I should talk to him?" she asks Trish.

"Honestly, yeah," Trish replies. "He won't make the first move; he's too stubborn."

"I'm stubborn too."

"Yeah, but you know how he is."

"Still."

Trish shrugs, and Ally sighs.

"I'm gonna go talk to him. Please keep an eye on me. He might try to kill me."

"Kill you?"

"That's what I said."

Ally sets her supplies down and stands up, straightening out her clothes and starting the walk to the clearing.

Austin is currently doing target practice with his bow and arrows, and Ally approaches him cautiously.

"Hey, Austin…" she says quietly, nervously, not wanting to startle him and not wanting to make him angrier.

She sees his muscles tense, and he shoots an arrow. It hits the target with enough force to nearly knock it over.

"Look at that, you're still here," he mutters, reaching behind him to grab another arrow from his quiver.

"I _do_ live here…"

"How unfortunate."

"So you're still mad?"

He turns around, looking annoyed and angry. " _Yes_ , Ally, I'm still mad. Or wait, should I even be calling you that?" he asks sarcastically.

Ally purses her lips, deciding it's most wise not to reply.

"You _lied_ to me. You're the _princess_."

"I'm sorry – "

"Sorry doesn't take it back!" he exclaims. She winces, and he takes a deep breath to calm himself. "What do you want?"

"Well, we haven't spoken in three days…"

"I was aiming for more."

"I don't like not speaking."

"Should've thought of that before you lied to me."

Ally sighs. "Can we at least talk about what happened _before_ that?"

"Nothing happened before that."

"Yes it – "

" _Nothing_."

"You kissed me."

Austin sighs, letting his bow drop to the ground as he hangs his head.

"I know," he mutters. "Don't remind me."

"Don't you think we should at least have a civil conversation about _that_?"

"Why should we?" he asks, looking at her again. "It meant nothing, yeah? I'm just a lowly outlaw, practically the scum on your shoe. Less than even your _poorest_ subjects. You're a princess. I'm sure you've got a lovely prince at home and I'm just – I'm just nothing."

"Austin – "

"No, Ally. It didn't mean anything to me either, okay? I was just caught up in the moment or whatever. It's fine. Conversation over. Goodbye."

"Austin, that's not fair. You – "

"Since when am I ever fair?!"

He freezes, and so does she. She knows he's remembering that moment from the other day, too. The moment when the kiss _wasn't_ just a moment, when it wasn't just them getting caught up in everything, when they were actually _thinking_ and they _knew_ what they were doing and they _kept doing it_.

Austin sighs again. "A kiss is a kiss. That's all it was. I'm still _furious_ at you, but honestly I'm too tired to fight with you. So please just leave me alone."

Ally opens her mouth to say something else, but then decides against it. She purses her lips and nods, walking away.

She glances back at him a few times, and she _swears_ she catches him doing the same.

* * *

Ally still sits next to Austin at meals. Their seats are all kind of assigned now, so she really has nowhere else to go.

The seating arrangement gives Austin the perfect opportunity to deliver what feels like her death sentence at dinner.

"Bonfire," he whispers in her ear. "Either you tell them, or I do."

She shivers, her eyes wide, and she looks at him. He's staring at her coldly, his jaw clenched. She bites her lip and nods in understanding before quickly looking down at the table.

She pushes her plate of food away, her already small appetite completely gone.

While Chuck and Dez set up the fire, Ally and Trish clean the dishes from dinner. Austin's back at the clearing again, out of earshot.

"So, how'd that talk go?" Trish asks.

"Terrible," Ally admits. "He told me to just leave him alone."

"Maybe he's just scared of his feelings."

Ally bites her lip, wishing that was true.

"Hey," Trish continues, "what was it that he whispered to you at dinner?"

"Oh…you'll find out soon enough," Ally tells her.

"But – "

"Please," Ally says, looking over at her.

Trish sighs and nods. "Anyway, I really hope things work out and get better."

"Yeah, me too," Ally replies.

And then they're sitting at the bonfire, and everyone's smiling and having a good time except her and Austin. At least he has the decency to _act_ happy for everyone else, but she knows that all she can manage is the look of pure terror on her face.

She isn't even sure what she's supposed to do. Does she just interrupt and blurt it out? Does she try to argue her side of the story? Will Austin help her at all?

Chuck finishes a story, and while everyone is smiling and laughing Austin nudges her harshly. She looks over at him and wants nothing more than to curl up into his side like she's grown so accustomed to. But he just gives her a curt nod and she knows that they are going to know _now_ , and if she doesn't stand up in the next ten seconds, he will.

Ally takes a deep breath and stands up from her chair, her legs already trembling. She's pretty used to people staring at her (she _did_ grow up as a princess) but this is completely different. She wipes her sweaty palms on her pants.

"Uh…hey guys. I, um, have something to say."

The people around her say nothing, and she swallows.

"I, um, haven't been completely honest with you guys. But now I'm gonna tell you the truth. I've been lying to you since the day I got here and I'm _sorry_."

She notices that everyone is looking around at each other, quite confused, but eventually all of their eyes meet Austin's before returning to her.

"I am the Princess of Egaia," Ally tells them.

They all look shocked. The silence is deafening.

"I, um, thought Austin would kill me if he knew when I first met him, so I didn't tell him, or any of you. And then I knew that you'd all be mad if you found out I was lying, so…I just never told you. I'm _so_ sorry."

She sits back down quickly before she can start crying, but the silence continues to envelop her and the whole camp.

"Okay, but – " Dez starts, but he locks eyes with Austin and cuts himself off. Ally glances over at the blond and sees him giving Dez the hardest glare he can muster, and she sighs.

"We will be having a meeting tomorrow about what to do with her, but until then, you are not to speak to _anyone_ in this camp," Austin says, finishing by looking at her.

She purses her lips.

"Austin, come on," Trish says, standing up. "She's our _friend_. Sure, she's been lying and I know we're _all_ mad about that, especially because it's this big, but if she can't speak to any of us how will she explain herself?"

"What do you suggest?" Austin snaps.

"Things go on as normal," Trish says with a shrug, unfazed by Austin's anger. "We treat her as we please, obviously without _hurting_ her, but if we don't wanna talk to her, fine, and if we do, also fine."

Austin sighs. "I guess that's okay. But _nobody_ trust her." He glares at everyone in the circle.

On a normal day Ally would make a comment about them talking about her as if she isn't sitting right there, but today is different. Today is her day _not_ to cause any arguments and try to stay as close to everyone's good side as she can get.

Austin tells everyone to go to bed after that, but he catches Ally's arm to stop her from walking away.

She looks back at him, knitting her eyebrows. He stares at her as intensely as he ever has before, his dark eyes swirling with emotion. She could swear he's staring straight into her soul, trying to figure out what she's thinking and feeling.

He opens his mouth as though he's going to speak, but then he decides against it and shuts his mouth again, instead letting go of her arm and unwrapping her scarf from around his waist.

He hands it to her wordlessly, and she feels her stomach plummet. This _means_ something. It means an _end_. An end to his courting? Definitely. An end to something even more, something even deeper than that? She hopes not.

She almost tries joking her way out of this situation, but then thinks better of it. Instead, she purses her lips and swallows back the tears pricking at her eyes. She meets Austin's gaze again, and she almost feels like he's trying to tell her everything he can't say out loud with his eyes.

But if he thinks she understands him, he's dead wrong.

* * *

Ally shifts her position behind a wide tree at the edge of the woods as she tries to listen in on the meeting between everyone else.

"So, what do you think we should do with her?" Austin asks the group.

"Nothing," Trish says immediately. "She's one of us now; she's proved herself a million times. She even saved your life on that raid, Austin. We were pillaging her old _home_ and she _saved your life_."

"By not listening to a word I told her," Austin reminds her.

"So what if she's a princess?" Dez says. "That could be useful."

"Yeah!" Carrie says. "Like…she could…order people to let us take their stuff!"

" _Or_ ," Trish says, sounding amused, "she could help us navigate the castle quicker, find the best things to steal, heck, she could probably get us in and out as if we live there!"

"But she _lied_ to us –" Austin starts.

"Because she didn't want us to _kill_ her," Chuck says. "I mean, I'm as mad as everyone else, but I'll get over it. She's our _friend_."

"I just don't think it's a good idea," Austin says.

"Think about it," Trish tells him. "She must've left for _some_ reason, and she was all ready to become one of us, knowing full well that her parents and her people hate us. She was willing to betray all of them to stay with us. And honestly, why do you think she's so terrible now? Right before you found out you were _kissing_ her."

Cue the gasps from around the table. Ally hears a loud _thud_ , probably Austin slamming his hands down in frustration.

"How did you know that?!" he hisses.

"Ally told me," Trish says sheepishly. "She said it got intense."

There's a low rumble of mutters from everyone else, but Austin quickly silences them. "Never mind that, and never mind the kiss. Yes, it happened, but that's in the past. My point is, what if she's a spy?"

"Why would they send their _princess_ as a spy?" Trish says. "We all know she has _no_ prior training from before she got here, and kings and queens don't just send their _daughter_ to spy on some potentially dangerous outlaws when they have plenty of knights to do that for them. And besides, how would she even communicate with them?"

Austin doesn't say anything.

"I say she stays," Trish continues. "Anyone else?"

Ally hears everyone's voice agree with Trish, except Austin.

"Alright," he finally relents. "But I'm talking to her first."

Ally hears him get up, and her eyes widen. She sprints back to the ladder and races back to her room. She dives in her bed and pulls the covers over her, pretending to be asleep.

Not a minute later, she hears Austin open the door.

"Ally," he says, loud enough to wake her up.

She opens her eyes. "Austin…?" she says in her best confused voice.

"I need to talk to you."

She sits up, and Austin hesitantly makes his way over to her bed and sits next to her.

"I have questions, and I _need_ you to be honest with me. _Please_ , Ally," Austin continues, looking her in the eyes.

She nods. "No more lies. Promise."

Austin purses his lips and nods too. "Did you lie about your name?"

"No. Well, my full name is Alison Marie Dawson, but I really prefer Ally."

Austin swallows. "Alison Marie Dawson, Princess of Egaia."

"Yes."

"You were out here only three days before I found you?"

"Yes," Ally repeats, nodding her head.

"Did you have any prior training with any weapons before you started with us?"

"No." Ally shakes her head. "My mother believes that ladies don't touch weapons, much less fight with them. That's why I was never allowed to use a sword, no matter how much I wanted to."

"What about the knife you brought?"

"If I remember correctly, I think I snagged that from the kitchen."

"Did you use it?"

"No. It was just in case. My strategy was to slice and stab and hope for the best."

Austin's silent for a few seconds. "That secret tunnel…you guys practiced escape routes with it?"

"Mmhm."

"How'd you get in the castle at the raid? I know you didn't use the tunnel."

"I walked in the front door. All I had to do was sweet-talk the kingdom gatekeeper and a few guards, and then I was in."

"Why'd you run away?"

Ally sighs. "I'm the only child of the King and Queen. That means I was gonna have to lead the kingdom someday, which in turn means that my mother was teaching me to be a queen nonstop since birth. And I've been nothing but myself around you, save for hiding my identity, so you can see how me and queen training don't exactly mix."

Austin chuckles at that, which Ally takes as a good sign. "No, no I guess you wouldn't."

"My mother hated my attitude, didn't really like anything about me, really. All she cared about was raising a queen, not raising a daughter. And I was a terrible queen, so she didn't show me much love. And my father was always busy. Not to mention that my opinions and suggestions to help the kingdom were always overlooked, and – "

"I get it," Austin says, stopping her before she goes into a full-blown rant.

"Right."

"What're your _actual_ colors?"

Ally smiles. "Maroon and royal purple."

Austin's silent again, and he watches her warily. Her smile fades as she stares back at him, trying to read his eyes as best she can. This time, he's hiding his emotions.

"Whose side are you on? And Ally, I _swear_ if you lie to me – "

"Yours," she interrupts him.

"You're telling the truth?"

"I'm on your side," she repeats with a nod.

"Even though that's betraying your family and your kingdom and your people?"

" _Yours_ , Austin. I'm _yours_."

He looks at her, and she meets his eyes. She wasn't _trying_ to mean anything else other than her being on his side, but now that she thinks about it maybe now isn't the _worst_ time to drop hints about her feelings. Maybe it'll help her.

"You're…mine?" Austin asks hesitantly, as though he's toying with the phrase and the underlying meaning.

"Your side. A hundred and ten percent."

Austin swallows and nods, and she can tell he believes her.

"Okay," he says quietly.

"Okay?"

"You can stay."

She starts to smile.

"But," he continues, raising a finger, "I am still _furious_ with you."

"I'll make you forgive me."

"I'm sure you will. I want you to prove yourself _one_ more time."

"Anything. Name it," she says quickly.

"I need you to raid the castle."

"Didn't you say that was too dangerous?"

"You're the princess, Ally. You said you sweet-talked them and walked right in. Honestly, you'll be in and out, it'll be the easiest thing in the world. I just need you to grab as much money as you can and bring it back here so we can give it to the peasants. I'm sure it'll be a piece of cake."

"Will you let me go on the next raid?"

"Nope."

She frowns. "I'll still do it, but…ouch…"

"That's _two_ things I'm still mad at you for."

"You kissed me when you were mad at me for the one thing."

"Ally, we're _done_ with that conversation."

"But – "

" _Alison_."

"And now you've got the full name to use. Great. I'm done, I'm sorry."

She opens her arms for a hug, but he stands up.

"I'm still mad at you," he tells her.

"You're always mad at me."

"You're impossible."

She looks at him expectantly and he sighs, leaning over to wrap his arms around her.

"You know I don't _try_ to be mad at you," he says quietly. "I hate being mad at you."

"You don't have to be," she reminds him.

"I can't help it. I'll get over it. Things'll work out."

Ally sighs in relief, pulling away from the hug.

"That's the best thing I've heard since you found out about me being Princess," she tells him.

"Yeah, yeah. See you at breakfast, Princess."

He starts walking out, but she calls to him, "Hey, you don't have to call me that."

He glances back at her, the slightest hint of a smile etched on his features. "I know."

And then he walks out, leaving her feeling like almost the entire weight of the world has been lifted off her shoulders.

 _Almost_.

* * *

 **I'm sorry but in the grand scheme of things, lame fillers are quite necessary. Next chapter should be better, and last chapter was pretty good, so this is just like one bad one sandwiched between two hopefully good ones. I hope. Right? Okay. I'm just gonna...yeah...**


	13. Chapter 13

"Just remember," Austin tells her as they walk through the dark forest in the moonlight, "get as much money as you can fit in there and get out. You'll be fine."

"You've told me that ten times. Are you sure you're saying that for _my_ benefit?"

"Just…be careful. Don't be stupid."

"When have _I_ ever been stupid?"

Austin gives her a look, and she rolls her eyes.

"I'll be okay," she promises him. "In, out, done. Then you forgive me, everyone else forgives me, and life goes on."

"You better hope so," Austin mutters. "And while you're in there, if you can grab anything maroon or royal purple – "

"Austin Moon, are you courting me again?"

"We are _not_ doing this right now."

"You _are_!"

"It worked last time. Shut up."

She grins at him, and he rolls his eyes.

"I'll be sure to grab something of mine, too," she adds.

"Hey," he says, grabbing her arm to stop her. He grabs her other arm as well and looks in her eyes intensely. "Listen to me. When you're in there, don't do anything that could get you into trouble. If that means you can only grab a little bit, then fine. Don't make any detours, and try not to talk to anyone unless you need to. I'm serious, Ally. Don't put yourself in any more danger than you're already in by stealing."

"Don't worry," Ally replies, rolling her eyes. "I'm gonna be _fine_."

" _Ally_ ," he continues, tightening his grip on her arms. "I'm not kidding."

"Austin, I'll be so safe that they'll have to create a whole new _word_ for just how safe I'll be. Like, _mega_ -safe."

"Quit joking around! I'm serious!" he snaps.

She sighs, smiling slightly at how worried he still is. "I'll be okay," she promises him. "No dumb moves, no dangerous stunts. In and out. Piece of cake."

Austin purses his lips and lets go of her. They continue walking in silence until they arrive at the entrance of the secret tunnel.

"I'll be waiting right here when you get back out," Austin tells her. "Shouldn't take more than an hour. _Please_ be careful."

"If you're so worried about this, why are you even letting me go?" Ally asks him.

"It's the only way I know how to be _sure_ you're loyal."

"Trust me, I am. But I'll be fine, Austin. I promise."

He sighs and opens the entrance. Then, he turns to look at her one more time.

"C'mon, Moon. I thought we talked about you having more faith in me."

"And _I_ thought we talked about me wanting to protect you."

"And _I_ thought we talked about – "

He cuts her off by wrapping an arm around her waist and covering her mouth with his other hand.

"Just be careful, okay Princess?"

"I like this nickname much better than 'kid'," Ally tells him, her voice muffled by his hand.

He smiles a bit and takes his hand off her mouth, wrapping that arm around her waist as well in a tight hug. She hugs him back, and he kisses the top of her head.

"Austin – "

"Not talking about that either. Now go get this over with."

He lets go of her, and she shoots him a grin. "Doing courting right?"

"Trying my best."

"Catching feelings anyway?"

"Man, I hope not."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I don't do feelings, and you need to go."

He grabs her shoulders and turns her around, gently pushing her towards the tree. Ally chuckles and starts on her way, giving him one last wave goodbye before disappearing into the tunnel.

She walks at a leisurely pace, letting her thoughts wander.

Surprisingly (coughnotsurprisinglyatallcough) they center around her favorite blond outlaw.

Specifically their kiss.

She can't help but grin just thinking about it. Because even though it ended with quite possibly the _worst_ turn of events she's ever experienced, that was her _first kiss_ with the boy she actually _likes_. And he _must_ feel _something_ for her too, or he wouldn't have kissed her. Especially not for so long, when they both knew what they were doing and it wasn't just a heat-of-the-moment thing.

And the way he was _smirking_. She remembers the feeling of his lips curving upwards against hers, as though he was getting away with something _great_ , as though that kiss was something truly _special_ that he knew was only reserved for the best of the best.

And really, it kind of was.

She remembers the feeling of his hands so gentle on her back, warming her to the bone. She shivers in the cold tunnel, longing for that warmth again.

She wonders if he likes her.

Is he even capable of such an emotion?

Man, she hopes so.

She imagines what things would be like if the two of them were _together_. Her falling asleep on his shoulder at the bonfires would be a regular thing, not awkward like it usually is. He'd be so proud of her when he noticed improvement on whatever skill she was working on. He'd kiss her goodnight, kiss her good morning, kiss her when he's happy, kiss her when he's angry, kiss her, kiss her, kiss her.

And they'd probably even get along. No more tension, not as many arguments… She smiles at the thought. And imagine them _fighting_ together, storming the castle for a raid side-by-side, fighting off guards as they stand back to back. They'd be _awesome_.

She _really_ hopes he likes her.

Pretty soon, she finds herself at the ladder to get up to the castle. She takes a deep breath and climbs it. When she gets in the closet it lets out in, she holds her breath and listens for anyone outside. Then she opens the door a crack and peeks out to double check. As soon as she's positive there's no one there, she steps out.

She's alone in the hallway. She shrugs and starts making her way to the vault. She walks silently down the stone stairs, still wary of her surroundings. She knows she'll be able to talk her way out if someone sees her, but that doesn't mean she'd _like_ to run into anybody.

After hiding from one or two guards and doing a _very_ impressive ninja-style somersault across the hall, she manages to arrive at the vault. She grabs the keys off the hidden hook and unlocks it, stepping inside and beginning to stuff handfuls of gold coins in her bag.

Once the bag is full, she starts walking out, until a sash catches her eye. It's beautiful, maroon and purple silk, probably quite valuable. She remembers Austin's shy request and grins, grabbing it and shoving it in her bag as well.

She walks out of the vault and comes face-to-face with two tall guards. She smiles sweetly, hiding her nerves.

"Pardon me, gentlemen," she says in her best 'innocent princess' voice.

"Your Highness," one of them says, "we have been told that you are a traitor."

Ally frowns. "Well, who would've told you that? Whoever it is, I _insist_ they are punished. I am to be _queen_ , and – "

"Many guards say they saw you fighting with the outlaws. Listen, miss, we don't believe them for a second. Still, they brought it to the King and Queen and we've been instructed to search you should we run into you. May I see your bag?"

"No, sir," Ally says, moving it so it's behind her. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some important princess things to attend to."

She tries pushing past them, but they grab her arms. One of them looks in her bag and pulls out a handful of the coins.

"What were you planning on doing with these?"

"Donating to peasants, of course." Well, it's technically true.

"And the King and Queen know about this?"

"Yep," she says. "And they won't be happy if you don't believe me."

"We'll take you to them."

Ally purses her lips as the guards lead her to the Throne Room, keeping hold of her arms. Not that she could've done much anyway: Austin insisted that she go unarmed so as to not look suspicious.

When she sees her parents (still sitting in their thrones despite the hour of the night), her blood runs cold. They look calm, but she knows that there is pure fire coursing through their veins because of how _furious_ they are with her.

"Alison, what a pleasant surprise," her mother says with a chilling smile. "We haven't seen you around the castle."

"Well, it's a big castle…" Ally says. "Nice to see you too, mother." She glances at her dad. "Father."

One of the guards takes her bag and steps forward, bowing to the King and Queen and holding out the bag.

"This is full of money from the vault. She claims that she's donating it to the peasants and that you are aware and approve of this."

"She is lying," Ally's father says, looking at her. She bites her lip. "Alison, is it true that you were fighting with the outlaws?"

"Of course not," Ally says immediately.

"Lying again. Alison, you have made a _grave_ mistake siding with the outlaws. They are _dangerous_ , and they are _thieves_. By taking their side, that makes _you_ an outlaw, and while you may still be the princess, you are not exempt from the law. Guards, take her to the dungeon. Her trial will be first thing in the morning," her father says.

Her eyes widen as the guards start dragging her away. She fights and bites and punches and kicks with all her might, but their grips are like iron.

"Father!" she exclaims. "You can't do this!"

She turns back to look at her parents, and all she's met with are cold eyes and emotionless faces.

The guards take her to the dungeon and lock her in a cell. One of them keeps the keys with him and they walk away.

She curses under her breath and looks around, thinking back to when she was little and her father would teasingly threaten to lock her up here if she misbehaved. Guess he wasn't so far off after all.

 _Austin is going to_ freak _,_ she thinks to herself.

She had _one_ simple job, and she managed to get herself captured. She knows they're probably going to give her a less extreme sentence than they would a normal person, but any punishment at all is still never good.

She could really use her knight in shining armor right about now.

She sighs and curls up on the cold stone floor, closing her eyes. This past hour has been so draining, she falls asleep almost instantly.

* * *

She wakes up with a sore neck and a headache, a chill down her spine, and two unhappy guards looking down at her through the bars of her cell.

"It's time for your trial. Get up," one says gruffly. These two are different from the ones yesterday. So much unfamiliarity, and yet she's in her old home.

She sighs and stands up, and the guard who hasn't spoken yet unlocks her cell. Then, the guards grab her arms and lead her to outside to the Pavilion, where she sees her parents sitting in thrones, a panel of jurors, and just about the entire kingdom's worth of spectators. The guards bring her up to a raised chair and seat her in it, tying her wrists together behind it and her ankles to the wooden legs.

"Alison Marie Dawson, Princess of Egaia," her father announces loudly, "is here today to be tried for treason."

Ally knows how this goes. Her father explains the situation, and while he is supposed to be unbiased, he always not-so-subtly expresses his opinion on it. Then, she gets five minutes to plead her case before the jury votes.

It's always unanimous; they all go with what her father implies. And even if they didn't, the King is the final judge of it all. The jury is truly pointless, just a front put up to make the citizens believe that they have a real say in what happens.

"Alison broke into our castle earlier this week, accompanied by the most _nefarious_ group of outlaws, including Austin Moon himself."

Everyone in the crowd gasps and begins muttering among themselves, and she resists the urge to yell at them that they don't even _know_ him.

"They stole a countless amount of precious items, including money, precious jewels, clothing, food, and medicine supplies," her father continues. "And they caused harm to an entire company of guards."

Ally looks around at the crowd, hoping for _some_ sort of sympathy from the peasants who the outlaws give all the money to. Unfortunately, she finds none.

"Alison herself tried to shoot down a guard who was about to end Austin Moon's life. Fortunately, she missed, but she knocked him unconscious in order to save Moon. Last night she was captured in the castle, stealing even _more_ money. She has betrayed her parents" – the King gestures to himself and Ally's mother – "her kingdom, and you, her people. She is a _traitor_." The crowd is silent, and he nods to Ally. "You may now plead your case," he tells her.

She takes a deep breath, wishing she could stand up to address everyone. "I believe that a life is a life, whether it be the King's or an outlaw's. I did save Austin Moon's life, but I do not think I have betrayed any of you. I am still the princess you all love, but I have tried helping the outlaws to become better people."

"So she confesses to siding with them!" her father exclaims.

"Well, I – "

"I think that's quite enough," the King interrupts her. "Jury, what is your ruling?"

"Guilty," an old man says immediately, not even bothering to consult the other jurors.

"Guilty," the King repeats, hitting his scepter once on the ground. "Case closed. Guards, loosen her binds for sentencing."

The guards untie her and stand her up, gripping her arms tightly.

"Alison Marie Dawson, Princess of Egaia, you have been found guilty of treason," her father announces in his booming 'king voice.' "Your sentence is execution. Effective tomorrow at noon."

Her stomach plummets, her eyes widening in horror.

"P-Pardon?" she says shakily.

"Take her away," her father says, acting perfectly fine even though he just sentenced his own daughter to death.

As the guards drag her away again, she looks at her mother. She could swear she sees just the _slightest_ bit of emotion flicker across her cold eyes, but she doesn't say anything, instead looking out at the crowd in the most elegant and royal way she can.

After all, her mother has always lived up to the lessons she taught her. So it's no surprise she'd live up the most important one of all (or so she says): ladies are seen and not heard.

* * *

 **hi friends pleasedonthateme thank you love you**


	14. Chapter 14

"Ally," she hears in a dream. "Ally. _Ally_."

She knits her eyebrows, realizing with a start that this is _not_ a dream, that someone is actually whispering her name from outside her cell. Her eyes snap open and she sits up, squinting in the darkness.

She doesn't say anything, but she knows that whoever it is must be a friend if they're calling her Ally.

"Are you awake?" the person whispers. "I can't see in here."

"Y-Yeah, I'm awake," she replies shakily, blinking as her eyes adjust in the darkness. "I can't see you either."

"It's Austin."

"Austin!" she whispers, scrambling to her feet and gripping the bars of her cell tightly. "Austin, they – they captured me, and – "

"I figured out as much. What _happened_?"

"I got the money and I was leaving, but a couple guards caught me. So they brought me to my parents and I couldn't talk my way out of it and I had a trial this morning and they're gonna execute me tomorrow!"

"They're gonna – what?"

"Hang me! They gave me the _death sentence_!"

Austin's silent for a second. When he speaks again, she can barely hear him. "I shouldn't have made you do this."

"You thought it would be fine. I did, too."

"Well, it wasn't, and now – " Austin cuts off and exhales.

"What're we gonna do?"

"I – I don't know, Ally. I'm out of ideas. This is…this is bigger than anything I've ever dealt with before, I…"

"We have to think of something. They can't – "

"What are we supposed to do, Ally?!" he whisper-yells, sounding terrified and upset and confused and so _not_ the calm, collected Austin she's used to. "You're stuck in here and they're gonna kill you in the morning and it's all my fault and you _can't_ die, Ally, okay?! You _can't_!"

Ally steps back in surprise at his words, but then she swallows and steps towards the bars again. She feels his hand brush against hers, and he fumbles to grab it in the darkness.

"I'm going to get you out of here, okay?" he whispers, once again barely audible. "I – we – we're going to save you."

"Austin?"

"Ally?"

"I'm scared."

He sighs and she hears the quiet sound of him leaning his head against the bars of her cell. "What happened to not being scared of anything?"

She squeezes his hand. "I met you."

He lets out a quiet chuckle. "So I _did_ scare you."

"I never said _that_."

"You implied it."

"You stabbed me!"

"I didn't _stab_ you – "

"You have serious anger issues."

"Okay, Ally."

She smiles, and then frowns. "I'm gonna die tomorrow."

"You are _not_ going to die. If nothing else, I am _going_ to get you out of this. I _promise_."

"Austin, I'm _really_ scared."

He sighs. "I know."

"Wait…how are you here?"

"When I realized you weren't coming back, I went back and told the others. Then I came back through the secret tunnel and here I am. But I couldn't find the keys, and while you were asleep I tried just about everything to pick the lock."

"Thanks for trying," she says.

"I'm going to save you, Ally."

"Because you can't court a dead person?" she teases half-heartedly.

He chuckles quietly. "Yeah, because I can't court a dead person. So do you know what time tomorrow they're gonna…?"

"Noon," she says, getting scared again. "I don't wanna die."

"I know you don't. I don't want you to die either. We're gonna save you. _I'm_ gonna save you. Your knight in shining armor and all that."

When she imagined him being her knight in shining armor, she didn't mean that he was supposed to save her from _death_. Just some uncaring parents. But now she _really_ hopes he'll pull through and rescue her.

"Thanks, Austin."

He squeezes her hand again, bringing it up to his lips and kissing it.

"I should probably go," he whispers.

"Please stay."

"I can't. They'll catch me."

"I don't wanna be alone."

"You won't be. Just look for me tomorrow. Then you'll know that you're gonna come home soon. Okay?"

"O – Okay."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Ally. I love you."

Her eyes widen in shock, but he lets go of her hand and she hears his quiet footsteps as he walks away. But then they stop.

"I didn't say that."

And then he leaves, his footsteps quicker than before.

He loves her. He _loves_ her. She doesn't know what exactly he meant by it, but either way the comment slipped out when he wasn't thinking and he _loves_ her. She knows he isn't the emotional type, everyone does. So for him to feel _any_ kind of love for her is a big deal.

As she thinks about it more, a smile forms on her face, despite her impending death.

But then again, he loves her. Her knight in shining armor will pull through. Twenty-four hours from now, she'll be back home in her treehouse wrapped up in the sheets of her bed and everything will be fine.

* * *

She's seen her fair share of executions. The poor suckers being marched to the gallows always looked eerily calm to her, and she never understood why. They were literally about to _die_ , and yet they seemed perfectly alright with it.

But now she understands. It isn't calm at all. It's being so caught up in your racing thoughts and memories and regrets that not even the slightest bit of emotion shows up on your face. It's being so _terrified_ that you can hardly even function properly. It's being far too distracted saying your mental goodbyes to your loved ones, going over all the 'what ifs' and wishing for a miracle.

She swallows and glances up at her parents, who are seated in thrones on the castle balcony overlooking the gallows in the Pavilion. They look stoic, as if they aren't about to watch their daughter be executed right in front of them.

Ally tears her eyes away from them and accidentally finds herself looking at the gallows. They were built overnight, and a single noose is hanging in the middle. She tries not to remember that the rope is meant for her neck.

But then the guards lead her up the steps and there she is, standing on the raised platform of the gallows and looking out at all the people who came to watch. They're silent with suspense, and she wonders how these people who once supported her future reign as queen so fully have turned on her this quickly.

She keeps looking, scanning the crowd again and again in search of the familiar mop of blond hair. But she can't find him and he's not here and he's not going to save her and this is _it_ for her and oh goodness she doesn't _want_ to die.

She bites back her tears.

"Today, we will witness the execution of Princess Alison Marie Dawson," she hears her father announce from behind her, "who is to be hanged for treason."

The crowd in front of her erupts in whoops and cheers and it's so so so loud and so so so chaotic and her head starts spinning but not in the good way, not in the good way _at all_ and all she wants is to wake up from this nightmare wrapped in Austin's arms.

A few tears _do_ escape as the guards wrap a black blindfold around her head and the world goes dark. Everything is crashing down around her and she's _actually_ going to die and after all that talk of doing anything to protect her, Austin isn't even _here_.

She takes a deep breath and tries to focus on the last time she saw him. His smile, his eyes, his voice. She remembers last night when he told her he loved her, remembers their kiss and all those times that he tried so hard to push her away but she _knew_ she was growing on him.

It gets harder and harder to focus on anything as she feels the noose being pulled over her head and secured around her neck. Her breathing speeds up because this is _real_ and it's only a matter of minutes before everything ends.

She wonders if it'll hurt for very long, if it's as scary as she thinks it is. She wonders if Austin _will_ arrive, only to realize it's too late.

She wishes she could see him one last time.

She tries her best to focus on him despite everything that's happening. She tries to ignore the screaming crowd and the blindfold and the rope around her neck.

It doesn't seem to work.

She hears someone's footsteps, hears the lever being pulled. The floor beneath her seems to fall in slow motion, but she could swear she hears a whizzing sound on top of just the creaking wood.

And then she's falling, falling, falling.

And then she's not.

She still feels the rope around her neck as she's placed on her feet again, but someone pulls it off of her. Then, they untie her hands, and finally they take off her blindfold.

She comes face to face with a grinning Dez.

"Did our favorite princess order a rescue?" he asks cheekily.

She's in shocks. Her cheeks are still wet with tears, and her entire body is still trembling. She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out.

"It's okay," Dez says. "We" – he gestures around him and sees that half the camp is standing under the gallows with her – "are taking you home. But we have to go. _Now_."

Just as he says that, she hears even louder shouts from outside as people realize what happened.

The group races out from under the gallows, and her friends surround her in order to conceal her from the crowd. Really, Austin is the only _truly_ recognizable one, but he's not even here. Still, she notices disguises on all of them in her daze.

They blend in with the chaotic crowd, but they're going towards the castle. She opens her mouth to ask why, but then she realizes that they must be going to the secret tunnel.

So she sprints wordlessly with her friends, and they do manage to make it in the castle undetected. They enter through the dungeons, which lead directly to the Pavilion for executions, so now they have to find their way back to the tunnel.

Apparently they've really planned this out, because they seem to know exactly where they're going.

The castle is deserted, as every guard on duty is outside for the execution. So they get to the tunnel with ease.

Dez goes first, and then her, and then everyone else. And then they're in the dark but this time it's okay because _she's_ okay and they _saved her_.

When she finally gets over her shock enough to speak, she says, "You – you guys…you…"

"Shhh," Dez says gently. "We saved you. You're okay."

"How?" she manages.

"Austin rushed back and told us everything. And then we came up with a plan, and here we are."

"A plan?"

"Yep," Trish says, catching up to her and Dez. "It was all Austin. We knew he couldn't do any of this or he'd be seen and then _he'd_ get caught and that wouldn't be good for any of us. So while we snuck under the gallows, _he_ blended in with the crowd. Then, right when they pulled the lever he shot an arrow that severed the rope and ran away before he could be seen."

She swallows. He _did_ save her.

"Are you okay?" Dez asks her.

Trish smacks him. "Of course she's not okay, dimwit! She almost just _died_! Leave her be!"

So he does, and everyone walks in silence as the past fifteen minutes replays over and over again in her head.

She's okay. She's alive. She's going _home_.

She wipes the tears from her face, and she finds herself laughing. She laughs almost hysterically because she's _alive_. Her friends cast her a few sideways glances, but they don't question anything.

After she calms down, she wipes a few more tears that escaped her eyes.

"Thank you," she whispers to everyone.

And then she's nearly tackled to the ground in a group hug as everyone tells her how much they love her and how they'll always be here for here and how she's their favorite princess in the whole world.

She smiles and laughs a little more and although she's still completely traumatized she manages to feel sort of okay.

When they get to the exit of the tunnel, Dez goes first again while she goes second and everyone else follows. And then they're all sprinting through the woods and everyone is hooting and hollering and cheering for their victory but she's just enjoying the wind on her face again and the feeling of breathing and being alive.

And before she knows it they're at the cave entrance to the camp. Ally looks at Dez, and he gives her an encouraging nod, gesturing for her to go first.

She walks through slowly, trailing her hand on the stone wall.

When she's close to the end she sees Austin pacing and biting his thumbnail and looking downright _terrified_ and her heart pounds and she takes off running.

She barrels into him and leaps into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, just barely choking out, "Austin," before breaking down into his shoulder.

He stumbles back a bit, but then his arms are around her and his face is buried in her neck. She hears him whisper her name as he moves one hand into her hair.

He sets her down and tightens his grip around her. She rests her head against his chest, and she can hear his pounding heartbeat against her ear. It calms her more than anything else, and more tears prick her eyes because she's _home_.

"Thank you," she whispers, squeezing her eyes shut.

"You're okay," is all he can manage.

He pulls away to look at her. His eyes are swirling with emotion and they're a little glassy and she's never seen him cry before but he's crying over _her_ because he was so _worried_ and she hardly even notices everyone standing around them because right now it's just her and Austin.

"I – I didn't stay long enough to see if it worked. I wasn't sure…" He trails off and they stare at each other in silence again with the same intensity as after their kiss but expanded by tenfold.

And then he kisses her again, and she kisses him back and they cling to each other like their lives depend on it because really, they kind of do.

She's mildly aware of everyone cheering around them, but all she cares about is him. He takes her face in his hands and deepens the kiss with a relieved sigh, and she knows it's hitting him all over again that this is real and she's okay because it's hitting her again too.

He starts pulling away, but then he kisses her again as though he can't seem to get enough of her.

His hands move to her shoulders, her arms, and then her hands. He intertwines their fingers and holds her hands tightly, but even then she can still feel his hands shaking. Or maybe that's hers.

He pulls away again, slower than before. But even then, he presses his lips to hers one last time before pulling away completely, resting his forehead against hers.

"Princess Alison Marie Dawson," he whispers, "I officially can't live without you."

* * *

 **MERRY CHRISTMAS TO THOSE WHO CELEBRATE I HOPE THIS MEANS YOU DON'T WANNA KILL ME ANYMORE (for now...)**


	15. Chapter 15

_She's back at the castle, standing on the raised platform of the gallows in the Pavilion, looking out at the crowd that gathered to witness her execution. Her breathing quickens, and she searches the mass of people for Austin. She doesn't see him._

 _This time, her father doesn't say any words. The blindfold is placed over her head, and the tears start flowing. Then comes the noose around her neck. Then she hears the footsteps and the lever, feels the floor drop out from under her._

 _This time, she doesn't fall with it, and she stays suspended in the air by the rope around her neck._

She wakes up gasping for air and letting out a strangled scream, tears already beginning to stream down her face and her entire body in a cold sweat.

"Hey, hey, hey," Austin says next to her.

She turns to look at him, her entire body trembling.

"It was just a dream," he tells her gently.

"B – but they had me, a – and you w – weren't there, and they – they killed me," she blubbers through her tears.

Austin takes her hand and helps her stand up, pulling her over to his chair and then helping her settle in his lap. "It was just a dream," he repeats.

"I – it was s – so r – real," she whispers, still shaking uncontrollably. "I – it a – actually happened."

"Except we saved you." He wraps his arms around her and starts swaying slowly. "You're safe now."

Ally sniffles and looks at him, trying to calm her breathing. He gives her a gentle, encouraging smile and wipes the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs, although more replace them.

"I – I don't… I – " she stutters, unable to even describe how completely and utterly _terrified_ she is.

"Shhh…" he says softly, wrapping his arms around her and swaying back and forth again. "It'll get better."

"H – how do you know?" she whispers.

"Back when I was training to be a knight, my old mentor had to go off to battle. When he came back, he had had a couple near-death experiences, too. But eventually he was pretty much back to normal, and the nightmares weren't as intense, and they were fewer and farther in between. He got better. And so will you."

Ally sniffles, trying to stop her tears from falling.

"He told me that if it ever happened to me, I should find something, _anything_ that could be my anchor, something to remind me that the past is in the past and whatever happened is over with, something that I could go to that would help to calm me down and bring me back to reality. Just try to find your anchor, and it'll help."

Ally nods and bites her lip. He wipes her tears again and brushes a few strands of hair away from her sweaty forehead before kissing her temple and pulling her into his chest.

She rests a hand on his chest and closes her eyes, focusing on the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. She decides that _this_ is her anchor, because honestly it's the most calming thing she has.

"Let's go up to bed," she hears him whisper. Then, she's lifted off his lap and he's taking her hand and leading her to her treehouse.

He waits until she's comfortably in bed before he wishes her goodnight and walks away.

* * *

She wishes she could say that after their conversation, she slept peacefully. But that would be a lie.

She tossed and turned all night, afraid to even close her eyes because every time she did all she could see were the gallows. In fact, she didn't sleep at _all_ after she got in her own bed, both because she was too afraid that the nightmare would come back and because the first one was still haunting her.

She doesn't eat at breakfast; she _hasn't_ eaten since they fed her in her cell before the execution.

She knows everyone is glancing at her every few seconds, but she doesn't care.

But then it's too obvious, too much, so she quickly stands up from the table and walks across the bridge to the clearing, hoping she'll be left alone.

Unfortunately, Austin seems to have other plans.

"Hey," he says quietly. She looks at him. "More nightmares?"

"I didn't sleep at all for the rest of the night. I didn't want them coming back."

"Ally…"

"I _couldn't_. Can I be alone?"

"Y – yeah," Austin says. "If that's what you want."

She nods, and he gives her one last worried glance before walking away.

She draws her sword and starts practicing moves alone, trying to put all of her focus into perfecting them. She does her best to push everything else from her mind, and although it doesn't _completely_ work, it does help enough to make her feel a little better.

She just can't believe that her own parents would so quickly kill her off like that. They really must not have loved her at all, because the only sign of remorse she saw was the look on her mother's face after she received her sentencing, but even that is fleeting.

And suddenly she feels completely alone in the world, because if not even her _parents_ love her then how could anyone else? She puts her sword away and looks over at the outlaws still seated around the table.

Austin catches her eye, even from that far away, and she swallows. He told her he loved her before he left that night. And even though he said not to talk about it, she _really_ wants to talk about it.

He seems to sense that she's changed her mind about wanting to be alone, so he gets up and makes his way over to her again.

"I don't think we've ever gone this long without getting in some sort of argument."

She meets his attempts to lighten the mood with a blank stare. She appreciates it, but now really isn't the time.

"You said you loved me that night."

"I swear, it just slipped out, and – "

"Do you love me?"

"What?"

"Do. You. Love. Me."

"Well, of course I love you. Who doesn't, right?"

"My parents. They sentenced me to death."

Austin purses his lips. "What do I do?" he asks quietly.

"Just…be here. Please."

Austin nods and sits down in the grass. She follows.

"Do you wanna try to sleep?" he asks her.

She shakes her head. "The nightmares will come back."

"I won't go anywhere," he tries. "I can't stop the nightmares, but at least when you wake up you won't be alone."

She thinks about it, and then nods. Then she lays down, resting her head in his lap. She falls asleep the second she closes her eyes.

She wakes up in a cold sweat time and time again, but finally at some point her sleep actually lasts.

* * *

It takes a few weeks, but she eventually starts feeling better. She smiles more, and she sleeps better, and she's more social. She even picks a few half-hearted, petty arguments with Austin, which she knows he only entertains because he knows that this is her trying to go back to normal.

They even start sparring again, but he knows not to go for her neck when he beats her. She's still sensitive about that. Instead, he shows that he has the upper hand simply by disarming her.

She and Austin are walking to lunch after returning from collecting firewood in the forest. His hand is on her back, but with each step it slides lower and lower, leaving the I'm-just-a-friend-guiding-you-along zone and entering I'm-more-than-a-friend territory.

They've been toying with their status for a week or two, slowly and accidentally (purposely?) beginning to blur the lines between _friends_ and _together_.

Honestly, thinking about that has helped to distract her from the memories of her failed execution. And combining that with the effect of time to slowly detach her from the emotional and physical pain of that day, she's really doing a good job of getting back on her feet after falling so far.

Everyone is already seated at the table and eating when they arrive, so Austin wordlessly pulls out her chair and sits down in his as he tries to catch up on the conversation. She shoots him a smile and sits down as well.

" – and I thought it was someone from the kingdom who found us and was sneaking up to capture or kill us, so I grabbed my knife and went outside. I saw the guy and swung at him, but he was faster. I was disarmed in, like, a millisecond. Turns out, it was just Austin walking back to his room from Ally's." Dez finishes his story, and everyone around the table laughs. Even she and Austin do, despite their slightly pink cheeks, because just the idea of Dez walking around in his nightclothes ready to battle what he thought was a knight but was actually just Austin is hilarious.

"Wait, what _I'd_ like to know is what was _Austin_ doing at _Ally's_ so late at night?" Jace asks, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I had a nightmare," Ally tells him. That shuts him up.

"Anyway, I really hope Piper and Carrie kill something good today. We're running low on meat," Chuck says, trying to change the conversation topic.

"I'm sure they will," Trish says. "Piper has, like, a sixth sense for deer."

Everyone nods in agreement.

Well, guess you learn something new every day.

Ally grabs an orange and starts peeling it, listening to everyone start to argue about who's better at finding which animals when hunting.

"Well, one thing's for certain," Dez interrupts everyone loudly. "Austin is better than _all_ of us at finding princesses about to be mauled by bears."

"I could've saved myself!" Ally argues immediately. "I had my knife, I could've taken it!"

But everyone's busy laughing good-naturedly, and then the topic changes again.

"I totally could've taken it," she repeats to Austin.

"I think I know how to solve this once and for all," Austin tells her. "I'm gonna take you hunting tomorrow."

"Really?"

Austin nods, grinning widely. "Oh yeah. You'll be great at it."

"You think so?"

"Mmhm. Don't think I haven't seen you shooting those arrows lately. You're getting good. Scary good."

She smiles. "Scary good?"

" _Terrifying_ ," he tells her.

"Maybe the tables have finally turned," she says, her smile widening (but totally _not_ because he's not being subtle at _all_ when he starts leaning closer to her).

"I know _I'm_ scared of you." He glances down at her lips, chuckling quietly.

Their noses bump together as their lips brush, but before they can _actually_ kiss, Trish interrupts them.

"C'mon, not while we're eating!" she complains.

Ally pulls away from him, turning pink now that she's been reminded that they've had an audience this whole time. Austin curses under his breath and takes another bite out of his half-eaten apple.

Ally finishes peeling her orange and starts eating it while the others continue their previous conversation. She steals a glance at Austin, who's still eating his apple.

She tries to avoid being _too_ upset over Trish interrupting them. It's probably a good thing. They really don't kiss very often, but it's still _far_ too often for two _friends_.

Who _clearly_ like each other and are just not labeling it for fear of too many things changing.

Which is code for 'neither of us does feelings and we're both kind of extremely nervous to let someone break down our walls completely'.

"C'mon, we should go unload that firewood," Austin says when they're both done eating.

She nods and they get up, heading over to the supply tent where they put the cart.

On the way over, she can't help but let the back of her hand brush against the back of his, not breaking the contact even when they're walking with a great enough distance between them that their hands wouldn't touch otherwise.

Once they get to the supply tent, they start picking up the wood off the cart and setting it in its designated spot under the tarp.

"So how've you been?" Austin asks her, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Better," she tells him.

He smiles. "That's good. We've all been able to tell."

"Yeah. The nightmares still come pretty often, and I can't think about it too much, but I'm getting there."

"I'm glad. You're one of the strongest people I know."

"I am?"

"You went through _all that_ , nearly _died_ , and look at you. You're _okay_. Maybe broken, but you're still _you_."

"You're just full of compliments lately."

"I know. It's weird."

She lifts a particularly heavy piece of wood and tosses it on top of the others, straining under the weight.

"And speaking of strong…" Austin says, looking impressed.

"Speaking of compliments," she responds immediately, giving him a knowing look.

Austin shrugs innocently and keeps unloading the wood.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Ally says. He looks at her again. "You'll never guess what I found."

"What did you find?" Austin asks with a smile.

Ally reaches into her pocket and pulls out a sash she found snagged on the branch of a tree fairly close to the edge of the forest nearest to the kingdom (yes, they walked _that_ far in search of firewood). The sash is royal purple, with maroon and gold embroidery.

"Ah," Austin says, taking it from her, that smile still on his face. "Maroon and purple. And the courting continues?"

"Will it still work if we're breaking the rules?"

"What rules are we breaking?"

"You said it isn't supposed to involve any _actual_ feelings."

Austin grins mischievously. "Who said anything about anyone having any feelings?"

Ally doesn't miss a beat. "You did. You said you loved me."

"Maybe I meant as a friend."

"Did you?"

"As a matter of fact, I did, Alison."

"Ouch."

"Do you love me as a friend?"

"Yes."

"See?"

"Alright, Moon. But you kissing me is breaking the rules, too," she reminds him.

"I should stop that, shouldn't I?"

"Probably. But I don't really want you to," she admits.

He grins and kisses her cheek.

"I think that's the best thing I've heard all day."

"We should probably figure all of this out eventually, though," she tells him.

"Sorting through this mess would be like you trying to pull back that bowstring when you first got here. Impossible."

Ally chuckles at the memory. "I'm serious."

"So am I," he says. "Whatever we've got going is good. We haven't argued since last week, and even that was just a silly little thing, more of just bickering. Not to mention you seem happier, I'm happier, and even the others look happier. And we have all this _without_ trying to sort through our feelings and just leaving it at I like you, and you like me."

Ally sighs. "One day this whole thing is gonna blow up in our faces."

"But it hasn't yet."

"Yeah, that was my frame of mind when I wasn't telling you about being a princess. And look where that led us."

"Fair point. If you insist on talking, let's do it while we're out tomorrow. Then we'll know no one is listening, and if it ends well we can make out without any interruptions. It's a win-win."

"Unless a bear attacks," she deadpans.

"Eh, you could take it."

Narrowed eyes, a cheeky grin. His lips on hers, and the few logs left to be unloaded from the cart long forgotten.

* * *

"Alright," he whispers as she aims her arrow at a deer who is _clearly_ already dying of old age, "aim for the head or high up on the neck. That usually kills them quickest."

Ally takes a deep breath and locks her eyes on the deer's head. She shoots the arrow, it hits the deer, and the poor animal falls to the ground with a _thud_.

"Nice," Austin says with a grin, holding up his hand for a high-five.

But her hands are shaking, and she's staring at the dead deer instead of him.

"Ally?" the blond says.

"Austin, I just killed that thing."

"You did. It was perfect. What's wrong?"

"I just _killed_ it."

"Yeah…?"

She looks at him. "Just like someone else tried to kill _me_."

Austin sighs. "Ally, this is different. That's an _animal_. It doesn't have the brain capacity of a human, and it was old so it was dying anyway. And if we didn't kill animals, _we'd_ die."

"I – I know, I just…I can't do this," she says, dropping her bow.

"Ally – " Austin starts, but she stops him.

"No. I can't. I won't. You can, and everyone else can, but I'm drawing the line. I _can't_."

Austin purses his lips. "Okay," he says quietly.

Then he squeezes her hand and walks over to retrieve the dead deer. Ally avoids looking at it as he walks back over to her and drops it on the ground next to him.

"C'mon." He leads her a few yards away and faces her. "I told you we'd talk. Let's talk."

"Right," she says with a sigh. "Well – "

"I like you," he says quickly. "I really, really like you. But feelings are weakness, and if I like you and they get to me, they'll be able to use you against me."

"I like you too," she tells him. "And the feelings are gonna be there whether we're officially together or not."

"What do _you_ want?"

"I want to know that this is _real_ , and that it's not all just because we almost lost each other."

"I kissed you before you got captured. I liked you before all that."

"I did too. But then when you saved me everything intensified and we started this – this – whatever it is."

"I don't know, Ally. You know I'm really not the feelings type."

"And you think I am? This is just as new to me as it is to you. Up until I ran away, I wasn't even _allowed_ to have feelings because my father was going to marry me off."

"Well…what do you suggest we do?"

"You tell me."

Austin sighs. "All I know is that I like flirting instead of arguing and kissing instead of trying to kill each other."

"Me, too."

"So that leads us…where we are now."

"Together, but not _actually_ together."

The blond runs a hand through his hair. "What's the difference?"

"Well, we wouldn't have to be careful that no one sees us for fear that they'll think we're _actually_ together. Not to mention that they'd probably leave us alone."

"I mean for _us_ , not having to do with anyone else."

Ally shrugs. "Knowing that we really, truly have someone, and that all of this isn't just us messing around. Actually saying that we're _together_ would make it all _real_."

"And not just a fling of two kids who don't know what to do with their feelings," Austin finishes.

"Precisely."

He groans and brings his hands to his face, shaking his head before dropping them. "This is too complicated."

"I think it would also make things _less_ complicated," Ally adds. "It would mean accepting that we're actual human beings who can't keep walls up forever, but it would also mean throwing away all the games and actually _being_ together."

"Is that what you want?" Austin asks her.

"Is that what _you_ want?" Ally asks back.

They stare at each other in silence for a few moments.

"I want us both to stop being so afraid of telling each other what we want," Austin says quietly.

"I want us to stop skirting around it and get to the point before we overcomplicate things so much that we talk ourselves out of it," Ally replies in a whisper.

"Together or not together, simple as that," Austin says with a nod.

"On three?"

Austin swallows nervously, his Adam's apple bobbing as he stares her in the eyes. She wonders everything he's thinking about, if his wants and worries are really exactly the same as hers.

"One…" he whispers.

"Two…" she continues.

"Three."

As soon as the word leaves his mouth, she's kissing him. Or maybe he's kissing her. Maybe it's both.

But either way, they're kissing, and she knows what he wants, what she wants, what _they_ want, and she's so so _so_ glad that if they're going to agree on anything this is it.

He wraps his arms around her waist tightly, and she rests her hands on his chest. His heartbeat is fast and hard, beating at the same pace as hers.

She pulls away just enough to breathe, "Together," against his lips.

"Together," he agrees.

* * *

 **If you think that this story is over then you are quite wrong. I've got a few more tricks up my sleeve.**

 **Also, just a friendly reminder that if you don't like this story, no one is making you read it. And this applies for ANY story! Imagine that! :)**


	16. Chapter 16

She wakes up screaming from another nightmare. Her blanket is soaked in her sweat, and her hair is matted and stuck to her forehead. She wipes the tears from her eyes with a trembling hand and sits up. Then she hears the door open and grabs her sword from under her bed without thinking, holding it out in front of her.

"Hey, it's just me," she hears Austin's voice gently. She squints in the darkness and sees his tall figure standing in the doorway. "Another nightmare?"

She swallows and nods, putting her sword away. Austin walks over and sits next to her on the bed. She scoots closer to him, and he wraps an arm around her.

They sit in silence. He takes her hand gently and places it over his heart. The feeling of his heartbeat soothes her like it always does, and when she finally calms down he speaks again.

"Are they getting any better?" he asks her quietly.

"Yeah," she replies. "They're still pretty rough, but…I'm getting there."

"That's good," he tells her. "Do you wanna go back to bed?"

Ally nods. "I'm sure I'll be fine now."

Austin nods and stands up, pulling the covers over her after she lies down.

"Night, Princess." He leans down and presses a light kiss to her lips.

She gives him a small smile, and he returns it before walking out.

It takes her a while, but she finally does fall asleep again. The nightmares don't come back.

* * *

"Austin, stop!" She swats his hand away once again, trying to contain her giggles. "I'm actually trying to concentrate!"

"Ally, you've been hitting that target perfectly fine. There's one more thing you still have to learn."

Ally sighs and sets her bow down. "What is it?"

"Hand-to-hand combat."

"I swear if you swing a punch at me like you did with the sword I'm going to stab you."

Austin laughs. "You sound like me."

"Good."

The blond rolls his eyes. "So are you gonna let me teach you or not?"

"Sure. But why didn't you think of this sooner?"

"Usually we don't have to use it much because we've got swords and bows and knives. But after what happened…"

Ally purses her lips and nods. "Got it."

"Sorry for bringing it up."

"It's okay," Ally says with a determined nod. "It's a thing that happened to me and if I can't get over it then I'll never get anywhere. I really am doing better."

Austin smiles. "You are incredible."

She gives him a small smile back and sets her bow down. "Alright. Teach me."

She spends the rest of the morning learning how to fight from Austin, and after lunch they spend the afternoon sparring. He always wins; she's still new to this and he's stronger than her, but she knows that with time and practice they'll be a more even match.

But eventually Ally's too tired to continue. "I'm done for the day," she tells him, resting her hands on her knees and trying to catch her breath.

Austin grins, breathing heavily as well. He wipes the sweat from his red face and takes a swig of water from his canteen before handing it to Ally.

"Not bad for your first day," he tells her as she drinks. "I'd say you were a born outlaw just short of some training if I didn't know otherwise."

"Thanks," she says, handing him the canteen.

"Hey…how did you even run away anyway?"

"I walked out the door," she replies.

He raises an eyebrow. "You just…left?"

"Yep, pretty much."

"Wow."

"I know. I'm that good."

Austin chuckles and wraps an arm around her. She wrinkles her nose in disgust and pushes him away. "You're all sweaty."

"Thank you," he replies, letting go of her. "Some women find sweaty guys attractive."

"Must be the princess in me then," she says sarcastically.

"Must be," Austin agrees with a cheeky grin. "Let's head back to the others, see what they're up to."

"Probably talking about us," she mutters.

"No doubt."

Together, they walk back across the bridge, stopping on the other side to rinse off their sweat with the cold stream water. Then they meet up with their friends at the table.

"Ah, how nice of you to finally join us," Trish teases.

"Sorry," Austin says, "we were busy duking it out."

Everyone looks at him and he shrugs.

"Did she win?" Dez asks the blond.

"Oh, totally," Ally pipes up with a grin. "Austin never stood a chance."

"Really?" Austin says, looking at her. "You wanna play it like that?"

"I think I do," she replies with a curt nod.

"Let's get down and dirty then, Princess," Austin says, smirking and sizing her up.

"Um, not in public please," Trish says, looking disgusted.

Austin glances at her and grins before wrapping an arm around Ally's waist and dipping her, pressing his lips to hers in a head-spinning kiss.

She's vaguely aware of their friends making disgusted noises around them, but she's kind of got other things to focus on.

And then just as soon as he kissed her, he stops, standing her up straight again and leaving her dazed, dizzy, and grinning like an idiot.

"That was completely unnecessary," Trish says.

"You told me not to. So I had to."

"You two really are the perfect match," Dez notes, looking at Austin and Ally.

"Unfortunately, they know it," Ally hears someone mutter under their breath.

" _Anyway_ , if you people are done talking about your new favorite couple – "

"Wait _couple_?" Trish interrupts Austin.

"Yes," he says.

"Princess and outlaw. Who knew?" Dez says.

"I thought you guys said I was an outlaw now," Ally pouts.

"Still."

"Well, doesn't matter who knew. What matters is that I'm starving and dinner sounds good right now," Austin says, looking at Chuck.

Chuck sighs and walks off to the kitchen to start preparing their dinner.

"Hey Ally, I'm not quite finished cleaning the weapons. Wanna come help?" Dez offers.

"Sure," she replies, knowing that she doesn't really have anything better to do.

Except kiss Austin because she _knows_ he must be dying to continue what he started back there.

She shouldn't have agreed to go with Dez.

Still, she walks off with the redhead and helps him clean the rest of the weapons. But when she looks over to see what Austin's doing, she sees him in a very deep conversation with Trish.

Austin looks frustrated. _Very_ frustrated. He seems to be trying to brush off whatever Trish is saying, but either way it doesn't sit well with him. She wonders what they could be talking about.

"Ally, careful!" Dez exclaims next to her, taking the sword she's cleaning out of her hands.

She looks down and realizes that the rag she was using to clean the sword is crumpled up in her hand, leaving her fingers exposed and vulnerable to the blade of the sword.

"Sorry," she says distractedly. "What do you think Austin and Trish are talking about?"

Dez looks over at them, squinting as he thinks. "Not sure," he replies. "Probably just leader stuff. Y'know, raids and…yeah…"

Ally raises an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"I don't know, Ally. Ask Austin."

"But – "

"I'm not them. I don't know what they're talking about. But it's probably nothing, and _definitely_ nothing that _you_ should be worried about, if that's what you're thinking."

Ally purses her lips. "Really? Trish didn't seem very happy about me and Austin – "

"Trish is always like that, you know her."

"I know, but…"

"Ally, you're fine."

Ally sighs and nods, making a mental note to try to ask Austin about it later. But for now, she just keeps helping Dez clean the weapons (which he never even _started_ cleaning, she realizes when they finish an hour later).

On the bright side, dinner is ready when they're done, so they walk back to the table and sit down with everyone else.

Austin still doesn't look happy. She can practically _feel_ the anger radiating off him as she takes her seat next to him. But at least he isn't mad at _her_ this time.

Still, she doesn't like when Austin's angry.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asks him quietly while everyone else talks and eats.

He nods wordlessly, grabbing a slice of bread from the middle of the table and spreading some jelly over it with a knife.

"Promise?"

He looks over at her, his jaw clenched and his eyes blazing with anger. She knits her eyebrows.

"You're not okay. What's wrong?"

He shakes his head and starts eating, and she sighs.

Dez catches her eye from across the table. He raises his eyebrows, and she shrugs helplessly. He presses his lips into a tight line and shrugs back.

She grabs the first thing she sees, which turns out to be an apple, and starts eating it, trying to distract herself from all the possibilities swirling in her mind of what Austin could be so mad about. She runs through everything she's done today at least three times, and still she can find nothing that she did wrong. So he can't be mad at her, right?

She looks over at him again. He either doesn't notice or just doesn't want any more of her silent questioning, but he reaches over under the table and grabs her hand tightly, intertwining their fingers and running his thumb along her knuckles.

They continue eating, neither of them really contributing to the conversation. Ally glances over at Austin occasionally, and she never once sees him smile.

After dinner, Austin wordlessly leads her into the woods and away from everyone else, never letting go of her hand.

"Are you gonna tell me what's got you so upset?" she asks him.

He doesn't answer. Instead, he grabs her face and kisses her, sighing in what she thinks is _relief_ when his lips connect with hers.

Her eyes flutter closed and she kisses him back, deciding that this isn't the _worst_ way for him to calm down his frustration.

But then he pulls away, keeping his hands on her cheeks and leaning his forehead against hers.

"Trish thinks it's a bad idea for us to be together," he says quietly. "She was giving me all these reasons why it's so terrible and it made me mad."

"That's just her opinion," Ally reminds him. "You don't have to agree."

"She wants us to stop being together. She thinks you'll be a distraction for me and that me being so happy with you is good but it'll also make me weaker. And she thinks that your parents will either use me to get to you or use you to get to me. And she tried to convince me to break up with you by telling me that being with me puts a target on your back too."

"They already want me dead."

"I know. I just…I wish Trish would quit it. I'm the real leader, and how could she expect me to know what's best for everyone else if I don't even know what's best for me?"

" _Do_ you know what's best for you?"

"Of course I do. It's you. From the day we met it's been you."

"Then tell her that."

"I did."

"Then ignore whatever else she says. She can't make you break up with me. Don't let it get to you."

Austin presses one more soft kiss to her lips, and she sighs contently.

When he pulls away, he shoots her a small smile.

"I'm not letting you go again, Princess."

* * *

At the bonfire that night, Austin keeps his arm tight around Ally's shoulders, rubbing her arm gently. She knows that it's mainly to spite Trish, but she enjoys it all the same.

For once, Ally _doesn't_ fall asleep in the middle of the bonfire, which means she's actually caught up on the conversation.

Unfortunately, the conversation isn't as light-hearted as it usually is. People still tell stories and laugh and do what they normally do, but there's tension in the air. Trish glares at Austin and Ally frequently, and Ally feels Austin tense up next to her when she does.

She sighs and closes her eyes, deciding that pretending to be asleep is a better alternative to being the focus of Trish's glares.

Still, she feels Trish's eyes on her every so often, and she doesn't like it. Trish is Ally's closest friend here, other than Austin of course, but now that she knows she and Austin are a couple she's distanced herself from Ally. And even though Austin told Ally why Trish is so angry, Ally still thinks Trish is overreacting. Austin is _finally_ happy, after Trish told her that he's _never_ been happy. How is that such a bad thing?

Ally looks up at Austin, taking note of his tensed jaw and cold eyes. He must sense her looking at him, because he turns his head to look down at her. Despite his obvious tension, he manages a small smile, closing his eyes and puckering his lips. She leans up to kiss him quickly, but she quickly pulls away when she hears an annoyed sound coming from Trish.

When she looks over at Trish, she gets up and walks away. Ally purses her lips and follows, grateful that Austin doesn't question her.

"Hey," Ally says, catching up to Trish before she climbs the ladder to the treehouses, "what's up with you?"

"What do you mean?" Trish asks bitterly.

"Ever since Austin told you we were a couple, you've been so annoyed and distant."

"I don't think it's a good idea for you two to be together."

"Why not? Do you like him or something?"

Trish rolls her eyes. "Please. He's the _last_ person I would ever have feelings for. And you know that I love you as a person, but I think that you're a distraction that he can't afford if he wants to lead all of us."

"He thinks otherwise."

"He's too blinded by being in love with you, Ally."

"He – what?"

"It's so obvious that he is," Trish tells her, rolling her eyes again. "But either way, love is weakness. Add weakness to distraction, and that isn't a good leader at all."

"I don't distract him, and he's not blinded."

"Of course _you_ don't think so," Trish tells her. "Look, I just don't think that labeling whatever you two have is a good idea. What you were doing before was fine, but now that you and Austin are 'official' or whatever, he's gonna be thinking too much about you and not enough about all of us."

"That's not true."

"Ally, I'm sorry to say this but I know him way better than you do. And I know exactly how he is, how he thinks, and he's going to be so focused on making you happy that the rest of us are going to be left in the dust."

"I'll make sure he isn't too distracted."

"You're just as bad as he is."

Ally frowns. "Well – "

"I'm going to bed," Trish tells her. And then she climbs the ladder and she's gone.

Ally sighs and walks back to the others.

"What'd she say?" Austin asks her as she sits down again.

"Exactly what she told you," Ally replies with a frown. "And a few other things."

"Like what?"

"Like…you're gonna be too focused on me and not focused enough on everyone else."

"She really thinks that I'll forget about them just because I'm with you?"

"Apparently. She says that you're blinded by being in love with me…"

Austin swallows, staring at Ally with wide eyes. "She…she said that? To you?"

Ally nods, biting her lip.

"I never told anyone that. I'm not blinded."

"I didn't think you were."

Austin stares at her, apparently rendered speechless at what Trish told her. Then he stands up, and Ally stands up with him. They receive a few odd looks from the others, but they soon go back to their conversation.

Austin walks into the woods, and Ally follows.

"Austin, you can't just _not_ say anything."

"Watch me."

" _Austin_."

"What, Ally?!" he exclaims, turning to look at her.

"Are you in love with me?" she asks, unfazed by his anger.

He starts drawing his sword, but she draws hers faster, grabbing his arm and turning him so he's pinned against a tree with his back to her. She holds the edge of her blade to the back of his neck, her hand trembling slightly.

"Ah," he winces. She pulls his arm further behind him.

"Stop trying to scare me into giving up on talking to you," she tells him. "See how it feels?"

"C'mon, Princess – "

She cuts him off my pressing the blade of her sword harder against his neck.

"Alright, alright, you win," he says.

She lets go of him and glares up at him. "You can't use that move on me anymore because you _know_ that I am going to fight right back and – "

"I know. I'm sorry."

She turns her nose up, but glances over at him nervously. "So…you're in love with me?"

Austin exhales. "Yeah, Princess, I think I am."

* * *

She sits straight up in bed, drenched in sweat with tears on her cheeks. She thought the nightmares had gotten better.

Apparently, she was wrong.

She gets out of bed and puts shoes on, deciding that talking to Austin might help. She walks out, bracing herself against the cold night air, and makes her way to Austin's hut.

She knocks on the door quietly and walks in.

"Austin?" she whispers, walking over to his sleeping figure.

She shakes him gently, and he groans tiredly, trying to shoo her away.

"S – sorry for waking you," she says, wiping her eyes. "I had another nightmare."

Austin sighs and sits up, the blankets falling to his hips on the bed.

Well, Trish was right about him having abs.

Ally bites her lip and sits next to him, and he wraps his arms around her.

"This time was one of the worst," she says quietly. "It – it felt so real."

Austin kisses her temple. "It's all over now," he whispers.

She sighs, closing her eyes and suddenly becoming aware that his _bare chest_ is pressed up against her. She swallows.

"You're okay," he continues. "You're safe and alive and they're never gonna get you again."

"I love you," she whispers.

He tightens his grip around her. "I love you, too."

She pulls away from him, and originally she's going to kiss him but something else catches her eye.

(And no, it's not his abs.)

(Well, kind of.)

"You okay?" he asks her.

She doesn't respond. She's too busy staring at the crescent moon birthmark on his right rib.

She immediately remembers that the crescent moon is the Royal Mark of the kingdom just north of where they are, Equivaria. She remembers Austin telling her that's where he's from.

Everything suddenly makes sense: the reason he's the leader even though he's not the oldest, the reason he's so well-trained despite the fact that he would've only been an apprentice at fourteen when he left, the reason he recognized _her_ Royal Mark.

Austin Moon is a _prince_.

* * *

 **yeet. lexy is gr8. yeet x2**


	17. Chapter 17

Austin Moon: the country's most notorious, ruthless, nefarious outlaw. Born to do evil. Probably lives like an animal, stealing and killing as he pleases with his band of followers.

That's what she's grown up hearing. But then she found out that despite being a cold thief, he's also sweet and warm and caring and –

And a _liar_.

He's a _prince_. He was raised as a prince for _fourteen years_ before running away. And he never _told_ her. He _lied_ about his past.

Sure, she did too, but that was out of fear for her own life. What's his excuse?

Not to mention how mad _he_ got when he found out _she's_ a princess. Where did he get that right? He was hiding the _exact_ same secret as her, and he's just allowed to get away with it?

Not with _this_ princess, he isn't.

She hasn't spoken to him since last night, when she stormed out after discovering his Royal Mark. But she didn't miss his wide eyes and his stuttered exclamation of "I can explain!"

She didn't go down to breakfast, and instead snuck an apple from the kitchen when Chuck wasn't looking. She hasn't spoken to _anyone_ , but she wonders if the rest of them know about Austin's identity.

Just thinking about him (and possibly everyone else) lying to her and then getting mad when she did the same makes her blood boil. What makes _them_ so special? What allows _them_ to do whatever they want while _she_ gets punished for every little thing she does wrong?

She clenches her jaw and shoots an arrow at a bird flying overhead. She hits it, barely, and it lets out a pained screech before falling to the ground.

Birds aren't as bad as deer. As long as she can't see animals' eyes, she's realized she isn't as hesitant to kill them. Plus, she's pissed. So that helps.

"Ally," she hears Austin's voice from behind her.

She drops her bow and clenches her fists, feeling yet another wave of anger course through her veins.

She says nothing.

"So you're just never gonna talk to me again, is that it?"

" _No_ ," she hisses, whipping around to face him. "No, you don't get to say that to me. You didn't speak to me for _three days_ after you found out I'm a princess, but you can't last a few _hours_ when it's the other way around?! You've been lying to me this whole time! And after all the drama about you _hating_ that I lied to you, you feeling like you couldn't fully trust me while I could fully trust you…you were lying too!"

"It's complicated – "

"No it's not! I lied to you because I was scared for my _life_ if you found out who I am. But you…you didn't even have a reason!"

"No one could know," he tries.

"Does everyone else here know?!"

"They came from my kingdom, of course they know."

Ally clenches her jaw. So everyone just went along with the lie then.

"Well, thanks Austin. Once again you've proven that no matter how hard I try, I'll always look like an idiot in your eyes and everyone else's."

"Ally…"

"What could you _possibly_ have to say to me to fix this?! You've been lying to me for _no reason_ , expecting me to blindly trust you just because you saved me from a bear! And you know what, I have. You've saved my life multiple times and you've told me how much you care about me and love me and I fell for it, I fell for _you_. Only to find out that I've been being played this _entire_ time, thinking that you'd _never_ accept me for being a Royal because you've grown up hating them, and then finding myself proven right when you found out, only to learn later that _you're_ a Royal, too!"

Austin swallows, his eyes wide. "I'm sorry – "

"It's gonna take a lot more than sorry to gain my trust back. And it's gonna take a _miracle_ to get _me_ back."

With that, she storms away, ignoring his calls for her to wait and talk to him.

She's always been a bit of a dramatic, but she thinks she's _allowed_ to be in this situation.

She feels like she has nowhere to go, though. This camp has never felt smaller. Wherever she tries to go, someone will be there, trying to talk to her. She can't go back to her hut; during the day it always gets hot and stuffy and she'd probably pass out if she stayed there too long.

So instead she walks into the woods and goes as far back as she can, until the rock wall encircling the camp stops her.

After pacing and muttering incoherently for a while, she hears someone walk up behind her.

"Ally?"

She turns to see Trish walking up to her.

"I want to be alone," Ally tells her through gritted teeth.

"What's your problem?"

"What's my _problem_?" she asks, looking at Trish. "My _problem_ is that Austin is a _prince_ and all of you know and _no one_ cared to tell me and I had to find out by seeing his Royal Mark?! And then _he_ is getting annoyed that I'm mad at him when _all_ of you were pissed at me for not telling you I'm a princess! Just because he's the leader and your prince or whatever, doesn't mean he – or the rest of you – are allowed to just lie to my face but get mad at me for lying to you. You're all just a lot of hypocrites and I'm sick of everyone thinking they're so much _better_ than me!"

"Whoa, calm down – "

"Calm down?! _Calm down?!_ You've all been _lying_ to me this whole time, and then you got mad at _me_ for lying about the _exact same thing_ , but now that _I'm_ mad at _you_ for lying, you're telling me to _calm down_?!"

"Ally, you're overreacting – "

"I'm not overreacting! Just – just go away!"

Trish looks at her for a few moments before sighing and walking away, leaving Ally even angrier than before.

And as if she couldn't get even _more_ angry, Austin walks to her hiding spot next.

"Ally – "

"Austin, I honestly don't even want to see you right now."

"I know. And I know I shouldn't have lied, and I know that since I _was_ lying, I shouldn't have gotten mad at _you_ for lying, and I know this is all my fault and I'm _sorry_."

She crosses her arms and looks at him. "You made _me_ go on a raid that almost got me _killed_ before you'd fully forgive me."

"So you want me to go risk my life doing something so you'll forgive me? Because if that's what you want – "

"No, I would never ask you to risk your life. I'm not _you_. But…I do want you to do _something_."

"Like what?"

"Um…I want you to…sneak back into your own kingdom and raid it! Since that's what you made me do. Then we'll be even and I'll be able to forgive you."

"Okay…that sounds fair."

Ally nods curtly. "And _then_ I'll forgive you."

"And be with me again?"

She purses her lips. She knows she'll cave the second he gives her those _eyes_ but she also wants to be strong and not give in. So she puts on a stubborn face and shrugs.

"I don't know, Austin."

Austin bites his lip, and she can see the worry in his eyes. "O – Okay. But either way…I still love you, Ally."

Hearing those words is too much for her because she loves him too, of _course_ she does, but she can't let him _know_ that because then she'll just run back to him and that isn't _fair_. So she purses her lips and walks away before he can see the change in her face.

She just hopes she'll be able to hold her feelings in until she's ready to forgive him.

* * *

 **sorry it's so short! the next one will be longer :)**


	18. Chapter 18

"Ally, I'm gonna be _fine_ ," Austin tells her. "You're acting like me."

"I haven't even said anything," she argues. "I'm not even worried."

"Okay," he says, putting his arms up in surrender.

"But please be careful," she adds as an afterthought.

He gives her a small smile. "I will, Princess." Then he gestures to the purple sash wrapped around his waist. "It's okay if I wear this for good luck, yeah? Courting, and all."

Ally purses her lips and nods. The courting _has_ seemed to work, even though he's not even a knight.

And she still finds it cute that he's elected her as his good luck charm.

"I'll only be gone a few hours. Before you even wake up," he promises.

"You said that last time."

"It would've been true if you hadn't snuck out."

"The past is in the past."

Austin chuckles. "See you soon."

And then he leaves.

And she gets worried. _Really_ worried.

But she tries to distract herself by chipping in on the stories at the bonfire and patching things up with Trish.

"Hey," Ally says, nudging her shoulder. "I'm sorry for snapping at you today. I was just mad at everyone for lying, y'know?"

"Yeah…sorry for saying you were overreacting. I know I felt the same way when I found out about you. And sorry for getting mad about you and Austin."

"It's okay."

"He's happier than ever now that he's with you," Trish tells her.

Ally smiles a bit, then frowns. "Well…we're not exactly _together_ right now…"

"You're not?"

Ally shakes her head. "I broke it off when I found out that he's a prince. But I love him too much to stay like this."

"That's good."

"So…you're okay with us now?"

Trish nods. "If anything, being with you is motivating him even _more_ to be a good leader."

Ally smiles. "I'm glad."

"He _really_ loves you."

She blushes slightly and nods. "Yeah, I know."

As it gets later, everyone slowly starts going up to bed. But Ally doesn't. Instead, she stares at the fire and gets lost in her thoughts.

She remembers when she thought Austin was a mystery that she solved. But now she realizes that he's a whole _new_ mystery now that she knows the truth. She hopes he'll open up to her about his _real_ past.

She doesn't know why he wouldn't, what with him loving her and all.

But still. There's no being certain with him.

She sighs and watches a few sparks rise from the dying fire into the night sky. _Prince Austin Moon_. It has a night ring to it, she thinks. _King_ Austin Moon has an even _better_ ring.

But he ran away, like her. Whether or not it was for the same reason, she's not sure. But what she _does_ know is that he's not going to be a king anytime soon. Which is a pity; he'd be a great one.

Eventually her eyelids start drooping and she knows that if she doesn't go to bed now she'll fall asleep on this chair and that will leave her _very_ uncomfortable in the morning. So she pushes herself up and makes the short trip to her bed.

* * *

"Ally," she hears a whisper next to her ear. "Ally, wake up." Then her shoulder is being shaken gently. "Ally, I'm back."

She opens her eyes and sees Austin kneeling next to her with a smile on his face. Immediately, she sighs in relief and sits up to hug him tightly.

"Worried?" he asks as he hugs her back.

"After what happened to me, yeah."

He pulls away. "There were a few close calls, but I'm okay."

"What did you take?"

"Mainly money, which I gave to the peasants. But I also took some food and…" He trails off and produces a beautiful gold necklace from his pocket, with a simple gold heart-shaped pendant in the middle.

He eyes widen. "Wow."

"Mmhm," he agrees, staring at it as well. "It's my mom's."

She looks at him. "Why'd you take it?"

"I needed a peace offering."

"You mean…"

"It's for you."

"Austin, you didn't have to – "

"I know," he tells her. "Turn around."

She purses her lips and turns so she's facing the wall, and she hears him stand up behind her. He carefully places the necklace around her neck and does the clasp, stealing a kiss on the top of her head before she turns back around.

"Thank you," she says. "But aren't you worried it'll get lost out here?"

Austin shrugs. "I didn't bring it back because it's so expensive and beautiful. I did it because I wanted to show you proof that I held up our deal. And I think you're much more deserving of it than my mother."

Ally smiles slightly.

"So…are we okay now?" he asks, sounding kind of hesitant and shy.

She nods. "We're _friends_ again."

Austin purses his lips. "Got it."

"Good. Now…get out. I have to get ready for breakfast."

"Okay, okay," Austin says, standing up. "I'll see you down there. Love you." He starts walking out, then freezes, looking back at her. "I'm sorry, I – "

"I know," she interrupts gently. "I'll see you down there."

He swallows and nods, hurrying out.

She gets ready quickly and walks down to breakfast, where everyone's waiting. She takes her seat next to Austin and grabs a roll and two oranges, training her eyes on the blond as he continues his story about last night's events.

" – and then I had to spend another twenty minutes in the closet because the guards wouldn't leave. But eventually they did, and I got out and snuck up to my parents' room. They were literally sleeping _right there_ but I stole my mother's necklace anyway. And then I left."

"What'd you do with the necklace?" Dez asks.

Austin looks at Ally. She blushes slightly. "He gave it to me…"

A few people 'Aw', but most of them just chuckle. Ally starts eating her breakfast and tries to ignore the butterflies in her stomach.

"Anyway," Austin continues, "I found something out while I was there."

"Are you gonna tell us or not?" Trish asks.

"Egaia is holding a masquerade ball three days from today. And that means it's the _perfect_ opportunity for us to raid the castle again because all the guards will be focused on the ball."

"So what do you suggest?" Trish wonders.

"Well, not all of us can go or it'd be too suspicious. But we don't really need much anyway. Still, we should take what we can get anyway. So I'm thinking two of us go, me and someone else, so we can slip in and out without anyone asking questions."

"Well, it's gotta be a girl, right? She'd be like your date," Dez says.

"Right," Austin agrees.

"Then I'll go," Trish says. "I'm second-in-command, I'm almost as good at raiding as Austin, and we all know how much I love parties."

"That's another thing," Austin continues. "I'd say you, but…well, you don't exactly know the mannerisms of such a high-class ball, y'know?"

"Well, who do you suggest, then?" Trish asks.

Immediately everyone trains their eyes on Ally, who shrinks under all their stares.

"Sorry," she says, "Austin says I'm not allowed to go on the next raid."

Now everyone looks at Austin.

"This is different," he says. "You're the only person who knows how to act properly without raising suspicion."

"I – I don't – " Ally starts.

"Please?" Austin says, giving her puppy eyes. "We need _you_ to come."

Ally purses her lips. "O – Okay…" she agrees hesitantly.

Everyone around her gives her a smile and cheers. She thinks they're overreacting, but apparently this must be a big deal.

To her, it kind of _is_ a big deal, but not in the way it is to everyone else. She hasn't been at the castle since she was almost executed.

"But how exactly are we gonna pull this off?" Ally asks. "I mean, we don't have anything to wear."

"Oh, don't we?" Austin asks with a mischievous grin. "I may have snuck into the tailor's after I heard about the ball. Clothes are in the supply tent."

"How do you know they fit?"

"I know mine fits; I tried it on. But we can alter yours to make sure it fits you."

"Okay…and masks?"

"I think that a bunch of skilled outlaws can handle making two masks."

"Hair?"

"Ally, please," Trish says, rolling her eyes.

"What about transportation? We can't just walk."

"Sure we can," Austin says with a shrug. "It'll be easy."

"But what if something happens to our clothes?"

"We'll have to be careful."

Ally sighs. "Alright, fine."

Austin smiles and stands up. "You can go try on your clothes when you're done eating. Me and Dez are gonna go hunting," he tells her.

"Okay," she replies.

Then Dez gets up and the pair leaves the camp.

Ally finishes her breakfast fairly quickly and walks to the supply tent. Inside, she finds a beautiful red gown on a hanger, along with a pair of shoes to match. (She _really_ hopes they fit.)

She grabs the dress and debates bringing it back to her hut to change. But then she'd have to climb the ladder with it and risk tearing it, so she decides to just change in the supply tent. She moves to a place where she can't be seen by the others and changes into the dress.

The first thing she notices is that it's too big around the waist. The fabric bunches at her hips where the dress fits her before it puffs out to the ground over layers of tulle. The next thing she notices is that it's too big around her chest too. Apparently it was made for someone luckier than her in the breast area.

Before she makes the awkward trip back out to get Trish, the curly-haired girl herself walks into the supply tent.

"Need some help?"

"Yes please," Ally replies.

So Trish goes to work on her dress, pinning it and sewing it and making sure it fits Ally _perfectly_ for this ball.

"How's that?" Trish asks when she's done.

"Much better," Ally tells her. "Do the sleeves look weird?"

She gestures to the sleeves, which puff out at her shoulders before tightening around her arms and reaching her elbows in the same velvety red fabric as the rest of the dress, but at the bottom of each sleeve tiny accents of gold lace tickle her arms where they flare out slightly at the elbows.

"No, the sleeves are fine. They look perfect. You look amazing. Austin might actually swoon."

"You know I'm not doing this for Austin, right?" Ally says, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah…but some of it _must_ be for him."

"Not really. Although if he _does_ swoon, that'll be a nice thing to make fun of him for."

Trish grins. "Wanna see yourself?"

"Do I?"

"Definitely."

Before Ally can answer, Trish grabs a hand mirror that must've been stolen from the castle and holds it in front of her. Ally swallows and looks at her reflection.

The same gold lace on her sleeves graces her collar bones where it's attached to the neckline of her dress. The waist is fairly tight now, mostly red velvet but with swirling gold embroidery. The same pattern continues onto the bottom of her dress, where gold lace just barely sweeps against the ground when she moves.

"Wow…" Ally says to herself.

"I know, right?!" Trish exclaims. "Bet you feel like a princess again, huh?"

"I've never really liked dresses," Ally admits. "But…this one is different."

"You've been out of practice," Trish giggles. "You look amazing."

"Thanks."

"Austin is gonna _die_. Have you tried on the shoes yet?"

Ally shakes her head and sits down on an extra chair. She puts on the simple gold flats and stands up.

"I think they fit," Ally says. "They feel fine."

"Good. I wonder how Austin knew your shoe size."

Ally shrugs. "Lucky guess, probably."

"Yeah…well, I'll leave so you can change. Don't tear the dress."

"Yes, because that is all I want to do," Ally says sarcastically.

Trish grins at her and walks out. Ally changes out of the dress and carefully hangs it back up, and then she sets the shoes beside it. She nods curtly and walks out of the supply tent.

* * *

The next day is all about strategy. Austin pulls her aside after breakfast and starts talking.

"So, about the raid – "

"I need to talk to you about that, too."

"Okay. I'll go first. I'm thinking that you can take care of getting the food and clothes, and I'll take care of the money. Then we can meet up at the entrance to the secret tunnel and hide our stuff before going back to the ball."

"Wait, we're going back after we're done with the raid?"

"Well, yeah. It'd be suspicious if we just _disappeared_."

"But there'll be so many people there, I don't think anyone will notice," Ally says.

"We have to be safe. Anyway, a little before the ball ends we can sneak back to the tunnel and leave. And then the next day or whatever whoever's going hunting can take the money to the peasants. Sound good?"

"Sure, but – "

"Okay, your turn," Austin says. He's been talking fast since their conversation started, almost sounding _excited_. She wonders if it has anything to do with her being his date to an actual _ball_ ; she'd be lying if she said the thought of it didn't give her butterflies as well.

"Well, I'm just…not sure if I wanna go…" Ally says shyly.

"You're…what? Ally!"

"I know I said I would, but with what happened last time, I don't know if I can go back there."

"Ally, this time _I'll_ be there. And we'll blend in. And there won't even be any guards around the castle to catch us!"

"I'm just scared."

"You don't have to be. You know I won't let anything happen to you."

"What if my parents recognize me?"

"We probably won't even _see_ your parents. And we'll be wearing masks. But either way, they'll be more likely to recognize _me_ than you."

Ally purses her lips, and Austin sighs.

"Hey," he says, placing his hands on her shoulders and rubbing them gently. She looks up at him. "You're gonna be okay. I promise."

"You said that last time," Ally reminds him. "I almost got killed."

"But you were okay. Just like I promised."

"You said I wasn't ready – "

"You know as well as I do that I've just been scared. But you _are_ , Ally."

Ally sighs. "Okay."

Austin gives her a reassuring smile and lets go of her. "We're gonna rock this."

"Or – "

"Nope. It's gonna be great."

* * *

Ally sits anxiously in front of Trish as she feels her hair being pulled and pinned in about a million different directions. She doesn't know where Trish got all the fancy hairpins she's using (well, actually she knows they're from the castle, but still).

"Trish, are you almost done?" Ally whines. "I'm pretty sure Austin's waiting."

"Yes, calm down," Trish tells her, her voice slightly muffled by the hairpins she's holding in her mouth.

"Fine."

A few minutes later, Trish announces that she's finished. She holds up the mirror for Ally to see.

Her hair is pulled up into an elegant braided crown on top of her head. The gemstones on the hairpins twinkle in the afternoon sunlight shining into the supply tent where they're sitting, and Ally can't help but feel like the princess she never thought she was.

It's kind of weird, but she likes it.

She isn't wearing any makeup – unfortunately, they don't have any here – but Trish assures her that with her face free of blemishes, rosy cheeks, and long, dark eyelashes, she doesn't really need any.

"It looks beautiful," Ally tells her friend.

"I know, I'm amazing. Now go or you guys'll be late."

"Right."

Ally stands up and hurries out of the tent, almost tripping over her dress as she goes. (She hasn't worn a dress in over a month, so it's not _her_ fault if she's not used to it.)

She sees Austin talking to Dez near the cave entrance of the camp, and she smiles at how comfortable and handsome he looks in his Royal clothing.

He's wearing a white suit with gold epaulets, as well as gold buttons and gold embroidery like what's on her dress. His shoes are black, and he's wearing her maroon sash across his body. His hair is swept elegantly to the side, his bangs just grazing his eyebrows instead of hanging in his eyes like they usually do.

He glances her way before looking back at Dez, but does a double take and looks back at her, his eyes widening in…awe?

"Why, Princess, don't you clean up nice?" he teases when she walks over to him. But she can hear the catch in his voice and sees the twinkle in his eyes as he looks at her. Her cheeks tint pink.

"So do you," she tells him.

"Well, aren't you two just adorable?" Dez says. "It's making me sick."

"Let's just get going," Ally says. "We don't wanna be late."

"Right," Austin says, clearing his throat and finally tearing his eyes away from her. He takes their bags from Dez and gestures for her to go ahead of him, giving her a small bow.

She smiles slightly and starts walking. He catches up to her.

"You really do look amazing," he tells her as they leave the camp. "Not that you don't always look amazing! Just…wow."

"Thanks," she says, thankful that he can't see her blush in the darkness of the cave. "I like your sash."

"Thanks," he says, and she can hear the proud grin in his voice. "We kinda match."

"No we don't. You're wearing maroon. I'm wearing red. That clashes."

"The gold matches."

"Yeah, but…would a noble couple really clash their outfits?"

"I guess not. Are you telling me to ditch my good luck charm?"

"Yes."

"Ouch."

"You don't need to wear that when I'll be next to you the entire night."

"Oh. I guess you're right," Austin says. He takes off the sash and stuffs it in his bag as they step out of the cave and into the forest.

"Of course I'm right."

"Sassy."

"I'm just trying to distract myself."

"You're really nervous about this, aren't you?"

"Yeah," she admits.

"Well," Austin says, taking her hand in his and intertwining their fingers, "you have _nothing_ to be nervous about. If anything, tonight is gonna be fun."

"Fun? I wouldn't consider going back to the place I was almost executed _fun_."

"We're going to a ball!" Austin exclaims. "Dancing and food and fancy clothes… C'mon. That's fun. Plus, we get to wear cool masks."

He proceeds to pull his mask out of one of the bags he's carrying and holds it in front of his face. It's white with a gold outline to match his suit, made with the fabric of an old sheet stolen from the castle wrapped around a piece of wood.

"I dunno…"

"Lighten up," Austin tells her.

Ally sighs. "Sorry."

"It's okay. But really, everything is gonna be fine. You know I wouldn't let anything happen to you."

"I don't want anything happening to _you_ either."

"It won't. I'm practically invincible."

He holds up his free arm and flexes his bicep, and Ally rolls her eyes.

"Show-off," she mutters.

"I'm just trying to lighten the mood," he tells her, rubbing the back of her hand gently with his thumb.

"I know, I'm sorry. I'm just… _really_ nervous."

"Let's change the subject, then," he suggests. "Ask me anything."

"Okay…why did you run away from home?"

"My parents," Austin says immediately. "They're terrible rulers. If you're not upper class, you're dirt to them. They don't do anything to help the poor, and they don't care about the kingdom at all. All they care about is the glamour of being king and queen. They just throw parties with their friends and ignore all the problems in the kingdom that need fixing, blaming and abusing the peasants for everything wrong with the kingdom. It's sick. So I decided to run away and become a peasant to prove to them that peasants are, like, _people_ , y'know?"

Ally nods.

"Anyway, the others I just knew from playing with them as a kid, so they came with me. And we ended up having to steal things to survive, as well as stealing money to give to the other peasants, so we became outlaws. My parents banished us to prove the point that they don't care _who_ you are: if you're a peasant or an outlaw, you aren't wanted. But I know they'd take me back if I showed up. They still have all my pictures hanging on the walls. I know they really do love me, but…they're terrible leaders."

"So, would you ever go back?" Ally asks.

"Never," Austin says. "Unless it was like life and death."

Ally nods. "Me, too. My parents were kind of the same way. And I needed out. I'm not much of a princess."

"Well…you look like one," Austin tells her.

"So many compliments."

"I can't help it."

Ally smiles slightly. "If it helps, you look like a prince."

Austin smiles too and squeezes her hand, causing her stomach to erupt in butterflies.

* * *

They get inside the kingdom gates and into the castle without a hitch. Austin managed to make up some Royal-sounding name and get them past the guards without being questioned. And after stowing their bags in the closet where the entrance to the secret tunnel is, they make their way to the ballroom.

When they walk into the ballroom, they're both slightly in awe. Ally lived here for nineteen years and has been to countless balls, but the grandeur of it all never ceases to amaze her. Grand, twinkling chandeliers hang from the ceiling and light up the room, their light reflecting off the hundreds of sparkling gemstones sewn into the tapestries and other hanging decorations. The table of food lines the entire back wall of the room, endless platters of appetizers and meats and salads and desserts. Small, round tables are organized around the room with chairs for people to sit and eat at, and servants are walking around and serving wine and champagne to guests.

The guests themselves are all nobles, of course, dressed in elegant, dazzling gowns and suits of every style and color. Couples are dancing in the center of the room, while others are eating and chatting at tables, and still others are wandering around and mingling with friends from other kingdoms. And everyone – including Austin and Ally – is wearing a mask.

"Wow," Austin mutters.

Ally nods in agreement, and together they walk farther into the room.

"What should we do first?" she asks him.

"Food," he says immediately, rushing to the table in the back.

Ally giggles and follows. She piles food on her plate, and she wonders if it's too much, but when she sees _his_ plate she doesn't feel so bad.

"Don't spill anything on yourself," she tells him, trying to hold in her laughter as he struggles to hold the plate with one hand while adjusting his mask with the other.

"I won't, calm down Princess."

She laughs more and follows him to a table, where they sit down to eat.

Fortunately, Dez – who was in charge of making the masks – took into consideration the fact that they would probably eat at this ball, so the masks were made in such a way that they wouldn't get food on them if they did.

"This food is _amazing_ ," Austin gushes after he swallows a bite of food.

Ally nods in agreement. "Don't forget to act like a Royal," she reminds him, eyeing the sauce around his lips.

"Right," he says, wiping his mouth on a napkin.

They finish eating and throw their plates away. Ally's about to ask Austin what to do next, but he speaks first.

"May I have this dance, my lady?" he asks, bowing and holding out his hand.

"I've never been good at dancing."

"I'm not hearing a no."

She sighs and takes his hand. He grins and guides her to the dancefloor.

He leads her in the same elegant, yet still upbeat, dance that the rest of the couples are doing. She struggles to keep up at first, but soon she gets the hang of it, starting to remember her countless lessons.

She finds herself smiling, even laughing a bit, as she dances with Austin. Her body goes on autopilot, doing the dance moves as if she's been practicing them her whole life. (Though technically she has, but that doesn't mean she's ever practiced them _well_.) The grin on Austin's face never fades, and she can see his eyes twinkling with amusement behind his mask.

This whole thing is funny to her. A prince and a princess: both runaways, both outlaws, both sick and tired of their old Royal way of living are now here at a Royal ball, _enjoying_ themselves.

Although she's pretty sure that the enjoyment isn't coming from the _ball_ as much as it's coming from being with _each other_ , but either way it's still surprising.

Then the music slows down, and Austin pulls her into him for a slow waltz. He flattens his hand against her back and guides her hand to his shoulder before holding her free hand in his.

Neither of them speaks for a while, staring at each other with that intensity they always have and letting the music envelop them. She tries not to let her emotions get the best of her, but here she is with a very handsome-looking Prince Austin smiling down at her with that _look_ in his eyes and she _knows_ that he's thinking about how much he loves her and before she knows it her cheeks are heating up and she can't look him in the eyes.

"You okay, Princess?" he asks quietly.

"Mmhm," she says, still looking down.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," she replies.

So Austin twirls her, and then pulls her back into him, closer than before. She looks up at him again and swallows nervously.

"Hey, Ally?"

"Yeah?"

"What do I have to do for you to be with me again?"

"What?" she asks. For a second there, she forgot that they even broke up.

"I…I want to be with you again. And you said it'll take a miracle to get you back. What kind of miracle do you want? I can't, like, do anything _super_ miraculous, but I fell in love with you and that in itself is kind of a miracle if that counts," he tells her, sounding nervous and kind of desperate and _in love_.

"You…oh," she says, rendered speechless by his confession.

"I know I lied to you and I was a hypocrite about the whole thing and I know that I don't really deserve you anymore but I don't know how much longer I can look at you and know that you're not mine, especially when you look like _this_ and you look like everything I never knew I wanted and you know I'm not the type for these speeches or really emotions in general but right now I'm desperate and I'm _begging_ you to _please_ take me back."

The slow song is over, but they stopped dancing a while ago; now they're just standing still in the middle of the dance floor, holding hands with his hand on her back and hers on his shoulder.

He searches her eyes desperately, and even behind his mask she can see how serious he is. It overwhelms her everything he just confessed to her, everything he _didn't_ confess but became clear with what he said.

He's more in love with her than he thought possible, for one thing. She's made him feel things that he didn't think he _could_ feel. It hits her that Austin Moon probably never thought he'd _ever_ feel like this, but then she came along – just a young, annoying, stubborn girl – and turned his entire life upside down.

It hits her that essentially, he did the same to her.

She wracks her brain, trying to remember if public displays of affection are considered inappropriate at royal balls.

They probably are; practically everything except _breathing_ is inappropriate at these things.

She has to get him out of here before she kisses him on the spot and possibly offends everyone in the room. So without thinking, she says, "We should probably go now."

His face falls, and she realizes that she practically just blew off his entire speech.

But he nods and together they sneak out of the ballroom, but the second they reach the hallway she takes off her mask, puts her hands on his chest and presses him against the wall. He looks at her, wide-eyed, and she lifts up his mask and kisses him before he can ask any stupid questions.

He immediately sighs in relief, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into him. She moves to wrap her arms around his neck, and he pulls her even closer as she combs her fingers through his hair. He lets out a moan and tries to pull her even closer, standing up straight and lifting her a few inches off the ground.

When he sets her down again, she pulls away to look up at him, resting her hands on his shoulders.

He has an adorable, dazed look on his face, complete with a goofy smile and messy hair. And all of that combined with the mask still sitting on his head and his Prince outfit is so cute she can't help but let out a giggle.

"Sorry," she says, her cheeks heating up. "I thought people might get offended if I did that in there."

"Does this mean we're back together?" he asks her, snapping out of his daze and focusing all his attention on her.

"Only because you begged."

He sighs in relief again and pulls her into him in a tight hug, one hand around her waist and the other on the back of her head. She smiles and hugs him back.

He kisses the top of her head. "I love you," he mutters. "I love you _so_ much."

"I know," she says, giggling because of the weight lifted off her shoulders and the blissful feeling of being loved by someone _so much_ washing over her. "I love you too."

Then they hear a clash and they jump apart, fumbling to pull their masks back over their eyes. But no one is with them in the hallway, and she figures it must've been a platter falling in the ballroom.

They look at each other.

"We should probably go _for reals_ now."

"Right," he agrees. "We have a castle to raid."

* * *

 **I could've split this into two chapters...but I got excited and combined it into one. And besides, I figured you guys deserve this nice long chapter for all the pain you've been saying I caused you ;) Anyway, I hope you liked it!**


	19. Chapter 19

They raided the castle and got out easily, without too many close calls. On the way home, all Austin could say was how proud of her he was for going back to that place, even though the memories of what happened there still haunt her. He kept telling her how brave and strong she is, how lucky he is to have met her, how much he loves her.

She could hardly get a word in.

As they walk through the dark cave entrance – which at this hour of the night is pitch black – she clings to his hand and follows close behind him. He knows the safest way through, and she knows that one wrong step could leave her with a broken ankle.

But even with her extreme caution, she still manages to trip over a rock on the ground. She lets out a yelp before tumbling into Austin, who manages to catch her. She can't see him in the darkness, but she just _knows_ he's smiling.

"Saved your life," he teases, helping her stand back up.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I'm the clumsiest, most unqualified outlaw there is. But at least clumsiness is more accepted out here than it is in the castle."

Austin laughs, taking her hand again as they walk out of the tunnel and into the camp. He intertwines their fingers and glances over at her, grinning from ear to ear. She could swear he's actually _glowing_ , but not from the moonlight (although that does add to it a bit).

"What's up with you?" she asks, giggling.

"What do you mean?" he says, his smile widening.

"You're practically bursting with happiness. It's so unlike you. Usually you're all angry and mysterious, sometimes even broody. And now you're all…puppy on a sugar high."

"Well, I've had a really good night," he tells her with a nod.

"Oh, have you?" she asks, amused at the slight bounce in his step and the way he's swinging their arms as if he hasn't got a care in the world.

"Mmhm," he says, nodding again. "First, I got to take my favorite princess on a date to a sweet masquerade ball with _awesome_ food – "

"That was a date?"

"Something like that. Anyway, said princess looked _stunning_ in her princess attire" – he pauses to boop her nose, which she rolls her eyes at – "and I know she thought I looked drop-dead _gorgeous_ in my prince attire."

"Mmm, it was okay." But she knows her grin is giving her away.

" _And_ to top it all off, I got my girlfriend back, which was _super_ unexpected but my favorite part of the evening. Especially because I thought you rejected me until you dragged me into the hallway and made out with me, and that's always nice."

"You…" Ally starts, shaking her head, "you're more excited than I've ever seen you about anything."

"Am I?"

Ally nods, laughing as he lets go of her hand and wraps an arm around her shoulders.

"I didn't notice," he says with that never-fading grin.

"You're half-past insane right now," she decides.

"Maybe I am. I don't really care. I honestly don't think I've ever been this happy in my life."

"Well, I feel very special now."

"You should."

"I do."

"'I do,'" he echoes her thoughtfully. "I like hearing those words coming from you."

Ally raises her eyebrows. "Do you?"

"I do," he teases.

"Alright, now you're _completely_ past insane."

"Ally Dawson, I'm going to marry you someday."

"And now you've taken a dive off the crazy train and fallen into the endless pit of absolute and utter insanity."

"I said _someday_. And I hereby _refuse_ any rejections in advance."

"Who are you and what have you done with Austin Moon?"

"I _am_ Austin Moon."

"Austin Moon doesn't say ' _hereby_.'"

"I _hereby_ decree that I shall now say ' _hereby_ ' whenever I want because I _hereby_ can."

Ally snorts. "You're so _weird_."

"Thank you."

"I'm going to bed," she decides when he stops by the fire pit.

"But I'm not tired," he whines.

"I didn't say _you_ had to."

"Then I hereby won't."

Ally stares at him for a few seconds, trying to figure out _what_ is up with him. Maybe his food was drugged. This can't possibly all just be the product of his happiness.

Then again, he's never been this happy before. This is uncharted territory.

Finally, Ally just sighs. "Goodnight."

"Night, Ally," he says with a lopsided smirk on his face. He leans down to press a kiss to her lips – which she knows he only does just because he _can_ – and hugs her tightly. "Sleep well. No nightmares, yeah?"

"Let's hope. See you in the morning."

She waves at him and walks to her hut, collapses on her bed, and falls asleep.

* * *

When she goes down to breakfast the next morning, Austin isn't there.

"Ally!" Trish exclaims, standing up from the table to hug her. "You're back! Where's Austin?"

"Probably still sleeping," Ally says. "But yeah, everything went fine. Only a couple close calls."

"That's good," Dez says.

Ally nods as she grabs some food. "Austin and I got back together."

"Really?" Trish asks.

Ally tries not to get frustrated at Trish's inevitable judging. "Yeah. He was basically willing to do anything."

"I'm…I'm happy for you guys," Trish says. "He was more focused with you than without you."

Ally smiles slightly. "Thanks, Trish."

Everyone else congratulates her, but before she can say anything else Austin walks out, yawning and running a hand through his bedhead.

He pulls out his chair and sits down next to her, yawning again.

"Uh…morning," Trish says, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Austin replies, his voice still scratchy from just waking up.

"You okay?" Ally asks him.

"Not sure," he says. "I have a killer headache. Did I drink anything last night?"

"Uh…not that I know of. Maybe a little champagne. You weren't drunk, though," Ally tells him.

"Well, then I don't know _what_ happened. All I remember is…" he trails off, squinting and scratching his head as he tries to think. "Food, and you, and the whole world being made out of…smiley faces?" He knits his eyebrows together, then groans and lets his head fall on the table.

Ally giggles. "Was the happy train a little too much for you?"

"What?" he asks, his voice slightly muffled.

"Do you remember that we got back together last night?"

"Maybe…? It's all a blur of food and smiling. A lot of smiling."

Ally laughs more. "Well, we _did_ get back together, and you got so _insanely_ happy that you must be having some sort of hangover after being so high on life."

Austin turns his head to look at her, squinting in the sunlight. "You broke me. That's rude."

"I'm very sorry." She kisses his forehead, and that seems to be enough for him.

"Yeah…whatever," he mutters.

"He's not gonna be like this for too long…right?" Dez says. "Because he and I are supposed to go hunting tomorrow, and he's the only person I trust to protect me from the birds – "

"Birds?" Ally says.

"I'm afraid of birds, okay?" he replies defensively. "Everyone but Austin makes fun of me for it…"

"Because it's ridiculous!" Trish exclaims.

"I'm fine," Austin says, sitting up.

Ally smiles. " _Fine_ , fine, or the fine where you _say_ you're fine but really you're grumpy?"

" _Fine_ , fine," he promises, kissing her temple.

"I'm glad," she replies.

For the rest of the morning, Austin and Ally train in hand-to-hand combat more. Austin pins Ally to the ground time and time again, and while it frustrates her more than anything, she doesn't quite mind that he kisses her each time he does.

Although she _does_ mind the annoying smirk on his face.

"One day _I'm_ gonna end up on top of _you_ ," she complains as he helps her up.

He snorts, and she frowns, not understanding what's so funny. "Oh, are you?" he asks her.

"Yes. And you're not gonna like it," she tells him, crossing her arms.

"I dunno, Princess. I think I'll like it very much."

She doesn't miss the mischievous, amused glint in his eyes, but that doesn't mean she understands what he's talking about.

"No, because I'll have you pinned to the – "

"Bed?" he interrupts, a smirk growing on his face.

"What are you – " she starts, but then it dawns on her that they are talking about _very_ different things. " _Austin_!"

He starts laughing uncontrollably, clutching his stomach and doubling over. She punches his shoulder, but if he felt any pain he's too busy laughing to show it.

"You're so annoying," she complains, feeling the heat rushing to her cheeks.

"Aw, come on," he teases, calming down and wrapping an arm around her. "You can't just _say_ that and not expect me to tease you for it."

She narrows his eyes, looking up at him. "I didn't _mean_ to."

"Which makes it even funnier," he replies with a giggle.

Ally rolls her eyes. "Whatever."

"Don't be grumpy now," he tells her.

"I'm not grumpy."

"Promise?"

She rolls her eyes again. "Promise. But even if I _was_ grumpy, you wouldn't be able to say anything because you're _always_ grumpy."

"I'm not right now."

"I'm sure you will be."

"I love you," he says, kissing her temple.

"Yeah, yeah, love you too."

"We should probably go to lunch now," he says, gesturing to where everyone is starting to gather at the table.

Ally nods and starts walking over, but then Austin stops her. "Wait," he says, "I need you to…go make sure there isn't any extra fruit in the orchard. Carrie and Piper were doing it today, and Carrie usually misses a bunch on her side."

"But – "

"Just do it," Austin says quickly, pushing her gently in the direction of the orchard.

Ally knits her eyebrows but does as he says, making her way over to the cluster of fruit trees.

She wanders between them for a while, looking up to see if any ripe fruit was missed. But she doesn't see any, and it proves to be a very boring job.

Soon enough, Austin runs up to her, a wide smile on his face. "Okay, let's go to lunch," he says.

Ally raises her eyebrows, but she follows him out of the orchard wordlessly.

She starts walking to the table, but he stops her again.

"Nope," he says.

"But – " she starts.

"We're not eating over there."

She knits her eyebrows together, thoroughly confused. "If this is another sex joke I don't understand…" she warns.

Austin laughs. "No, no, not that."

He wraps an arm around her shoulders and guides her across the clearing towards the pond. When the get closer, she sees a white bedsheet laid out on the ground, with two plates full of food sitting on it, along with silverware, napkins, and cups of water.

"Surprise!" he exclaims, looking down at her.

She grins, looking at him too. "What's all this?"

"Well, going to that ball with you got me thinking. That was kind of the only date we've ever been on, and for most of it we weren't even together. So I wanted us to have a proper date."

"For an cold, emotionless, heartless thief, you're a real romantic, aren't you?"

"You have to understand that I am inexperienced at all of this. I'm just making it up as I go along. Is it working?"

Ally's smile widens and she nods. "I love it. And you."

He presses a kiss to her lips. "I love you too. But I'm also very hungry, so…"

Ally laughs and watches him hurry to sit down and start eating. She sits across from him.

"Aren't you worried about everyone being mad at you over this?" she asks him as she takes a bite of food.

"They're already pissy because I spend all my time with you. I don't care, though. Everything's still running fine so there's nothing for them to be mad about. But if they insist on being angry over my happiness, then that's their problem."

"Fair enough," she says. "I just don't want them hating me."

"Nah, they couldn't hate you. No one could."

"Except my parents."

Austin sighs. "They don't – "

"They want me dead."

"Maybe it was just them trying to do what the people would think was right. They can't possibly hate you, Ally."

Ally exhales. "Either way, it sucks knowing that I could be dead right now because of them."

"But you're not. And that's what matters."

"I guess you're right."

"This isn't really a date conversation," Austin says.

"I'm new at this."

"So am I."

"You know…last time we got together we weren't really a couple long enough for it to _truly_ mean anything."

"That's true," he says. "So?"

"So…let's just promise that things won't change except for the better, okay? Like, no awkwardness and no arguing a lot and…and none of that, okay?"

"Well, of course," Austin says. "That just goes without saying."

"Just making sure."

"Ally, I've already almost lost you enough times. _Nothing_ is going to keep me apart from you, okay?"

She nods. "Okay."

She's about to take another bite of her food, when she hears a sound behind her. Before she can even register what's going on, Austin's on his feet with his sword drawn, staring at something behind her and cursing under his breath.

She turns around just in time to see a flash of armor, and then she's standing up with a knight on each side of her, gripping her arms. There's another knight to her right, holding a bow with an arrow aimed at Austin.

"How did you find us?" Austin asks through clenched teeth.

"You were at the ball; one of the servants recognized you. We were sent to follow you."

Austin locks eyes with Ally, and she tries not to look as terrified as she feels. She's unarmed yet again, and she debates testing the combat skills Austin's been teaching her.

But the knights are in armor. She wouldn't even make a dent.

Austin gives her a slight shake of his head, silently telling her to be still.

"Just let her go," Austin says. "I can have a dozen other people over here to overpower you. You're at a disadvantage."

Ally feels the point of a sword at the side of her neck, and she closes her eyes tightly in fear. The memories of her execution day come rushing back to her, and the horror with them.

"Make a move and she dies," the knight holding the sword says. "The King and Queen want her dead or alive, they don't care."

Austin must make a mistake, because the point of the sword is pressed harder into her skin. She winces and squeaks in pain as she feels blood trickling down her neck.

"Why don't you take me instead? I'm a better prize than her anyway," she hears Austin suggest. "I've been wanted for years, and I'm sure the King and Queen will be happier with executing the brains of this whole operation and the reason their daughter has become an outlaw."

Ally opens her eyes to look at him. "No," she manages.

Austin gives her a hard look.

"We are taking the Princess," the knight holding the bow and arrow tells him.

"Over my dead body," Austin snaps back.

And then before she knows it the sword that was against her neck is on the ground, knocked out of the knight's hand by Austin. He tries pushing the knight away from her, but the his grip is to firm on her arm. So instead, he kicks the sword away and disarms the other knight, dodging an arrow from the third.

Ally struggles to get free of her captors, but all she can do is watch the scene unfold in front of her. She sees that the other outlaws are starting to notice what's going on, and they hurry to the weapons table to grab bows and arrows along with their swords.

Meanwhile, a few more knights rush into the camp, and they meet her friends in a battle of clashing swords and flying arrows. Her captors try to drag her out in all the chaos, but Austin stands in front of them.

He's already bleeding from cuts on his forehead and his arm, but he glares at them with wild, determined eyes.

He twirls his sword in his hand and takes a step towards them. Suddenly, both of Ally's arms are being held by one knight while the other engages in a sword fight with Austin.

They fight for an agonizingly slow few minutes, and Austin suffers from a few more wounds. She can hardly watch; Austin has no armor and one wrong move could leave him dead.

She tries kicking the knight behind her, pulling her arms free, even letting her body go limp so he'll let go. But nothing works, and she's forced to watch the battle around her helplessly.

Austin knocks out the knight he was fighting with, and then turns to them.

"Let. Her. _Go_."

"Your friends are no match for us. If we don't get her now, we'll just come back with more men."

"You're not taking her."

Austin makes a stab at the knight, probably aiming for a weak point in his armor. But Ally's suddenly pulled in front of him, and then a shooting pain spreads through her body like fire from her side.

She screams in pain, looking down to see what caused it, although her tears cloud her vision. But she can see well enough to make out a bloody sword slowly being pulled from her side.

She looks up at Austin, and everything seems slow motion. His jaw slackens and he steps back, dropping his sword. Her body starts going numb; she can feel the blood gushing out of her wound, staining her clothes.

Her knees go weak, and she stumbles, her captor now the only reason she's still on her feet.

"No," she hears Austin whisper.

The battle around her stops, and all eyes are trained on her.

"Let's go," the knight still holding her announces.

Her friends start protesting. But not Austin. He's still staring at her with wide eyes, as though he can't believe what just happened.

"They want her dead or alive. They don't care."

More protests, more exclamations that she _can't_ die, that they won't stop until she's safe.

Finally, Austin seems to come to his senses. "Let us save her," he shouts over everyone. His voice and face are void of emotion, but his eyes tell another story. "You can do whatever you want with her, with us, just…just let us save her."

Ally starts slipping out of consciousness, but she hears a knight hesitantly agree, and then her friends start rushing around her. She's set on the ground, and the last thing she sees is Austin pressing the heels of his hands in his eyes and then covering his mouth, tears already spilling over his cheeks.

* * *

 **sorry it's been so long! school and cheer and stuff hahaha but heyyyyy I hope this makes up for it! Hopefully it does, because it'll probably be a while again before the next chapter... Anyway thanks for reading and please review! I loveeee youuuuuu**


	20. Chapter 20

She slips into consciousness before opening her eyes. The first thing she notices is that her bed is a lot more uncomfortable than she remembers it. Then she feels a sharp, throbbing pain in her side and someone squeezing her hand. She groans in pain and opens her eyes, blinking a few times until everything comes into focus.

"Ally," she hears a whisper next to her. She turns her head and sees Austin, his face red and tearstained, and his hand gripping hers.

"What…" she starts weakly. He presses a soft kiss to her lips to silence her.

"I'm so sorry," he whispers. "I'm so, so sorry."

"What's going on?" she whispers back, unable to manage much else.

Before he can answer, she inhales the smell of smoke and starts coughing, which brings another stabbing pain to her side. She looks down and sees a rough stitch holding together a long gash, and the memories of what happened come rushing back. She looks at Austin, who's worrying over her wound.

Then she notices the shouts from the forest behind her.

"Why won't this tree light?!" a man shouts in frustration.

"None of them will!" another man replies.

"At least we know your plant paste worked," Austin tries, looking at her again.

"It wasn't a dream?" Ally asks, biting her lip.

"I'm sorry, Princess."

"They're taking me away?"

"We can't fight them anymore. Not after they let us save you."

Ally closes her eyes and shifts her position on what she now realizes must be the table. "When I get home, I'm having you captured and hanged for stabbing me."

Austin laughs a bit, and she can hear the relief in his voice. If she's joking, it means she's really okay. He knows that.

"At least I'll get to see you again," he says quietly.

Before Ally can reply, Austin is lifting his head to look at something behind her.

"We're leaving," she hears a knight say.

Austin swallows and nods, standing and gently lifting Ally bridal style. She feels a wave of dizziness and closes her eyes, trying to ignore the smell of smoke gradually getting stronger.

She doesn't open her eyes until she feels herself being set down on another hard surface. It's a cage on wheels pulled by two horses, like the ones they use to transport prisoners through the kingdom. Austin has tears in his eyes, and he gives her a meaningful look. She tries to return it.

"Make no mistake," the knight says to Austin, "you are not safe. We will come back for you, with more men, and less mercy."

With that, he walks away to call the other knights back, and Ally has one more moment alone with Austin.

"I love you," he says in a rush before she can speak, gripping the bars of the caged carriage desperately. "I love you, and I'm never going to _stop_ loving you. I'll come for you, okay? I don't know how or when, but I'll come for you, and we'll be together again. And even if that means rotting in a dungeon for the rest of our lives, I'll do it."

"Austin," she says quietly, trying to ignore the pain still at her side, "they're probably going to hang me as soon as I get there."

" _No_ ," he says. "No, they can't. They won't. I saw your mother's face last time, Ally. She couldn't watch. They won't kill you. I _know_ they won't. I – they – "

"Austin," she interrupts before he can go into hysterics, "I'll wait for you."

She knows they're going to kill her, but she also knows Austin won't be able to function if he gets the idea in his head that she's really going to die.

"I love you," she continues, "and I'm already counting down till I can see you again."

"This isn't goodbye," he agrees.

The knights all load onto their horses, with the one who seems to be the leader climbing onto her carriage to steer the horses.

"I love you," Austin says again.

Ally fights the urge to cry, knowing that it'll just cause her side to hurt more. Plus, she has to be strong for him. He's been strong for her too many times to count.

"I love you, too," she manages, reaching through the bars to squeeze his hand. This is all too familiar, and she's brought back to that night in the dungeon when she thought it was goodbye and neither of them knew what they were feeling other than that they needed each other. Now they know. And that makes this goodbye even more painful.

And then the carriage starts moving, and she's forced to let go of him. He watches her until she can't see him anymore, but she imagines him still standing there, staring after her, willing the knights to somehow bring her back.

The ride back to the castle is anything but comfortable. There are no real paths in this part of the forest, the only one being apparently too far away for the knights. So it's bumpy and jerky, which doesn't do any good for her stab wound. It's kind of a sick thought, but the scar from said wound is probably all she'll have left of him after her parents burn her ratty outlaw clothes and bury her corpse in the ground.

When did she get so morbid?

She feels a pressure light tapping on her chest, and she looks down to see Austin's mother's locket still around her neck, bouncing with the bumpy carriage.

She fights her tears again and places her hand over it, remembering the day he gave it to her. Maybe once they've put the fires out in the camp, they'll come watch her execution. Maybe she'll see his face in the crowd, and he'll give her the smallest of smiles through his tears, and that'll be enough to make her strong despite everything else. Maybe he'll turn himself in before that happens, and they can have one last night together.

Or maybe none of that will happen, and he's already trying to find a way to move on.

She knows he wasn't lying when he said he'd always love her. But she also knows he's practical, and he seemed like even he couldn't find a way out of this one.

She just hopes that she'll be able to look into her mother's eyes and somehow let her know that she has no regrets.

* * *

When they finally arrive at the castle, a crowd has gathered in front of it. The gallows are already set up, but Ally can't find it in herself to be afraid. A knight pulls her out of the cage and she's forced to walk through the mass of people, who are throwing things at her and calling her awful words.

She ducks her head, the throbbing in her side enough to distract her from the people.

Once inside the gates, her legs start trembling. A guard appears on either side of her and they hold her arms, helping her walk.

She's immediately taken to the throne room, where she's forced to bow to her waiting parents. She grimaces at the pain, and then lifts her head to look at them.

"Alison," her father says coldly, "look what you've done."

Ignoring him, she turns to her mother, remembering what Austin said. Sure enough, the Queen is chewing on her lower lip, a nervous habit Ally must have picked up from her.

"What happened?" her father asks her, nodding at her side. "Did they find out who you really are and try to kill you like we knew they would?"

"No," she manages, "Austin Moon was trying to save me from the knights. But one of your own guards used me as a shield."

"You were wanted dead or alive," the King says. "Clearly they showed you mercy."

"I don't regret my time with the outlaws," Ally says. "I ran away to escape all of the responsibilities of the castle and becoming Queen. It was too much. I've learned more from them than I ever could here; more than just how to hold a teacup and when are appropriate times to speak. So if you want to have me hanged for that, then so be it."

"She is to be hanged in the morning," her father announces. Immediately the Queen leans over and whispers something to him, which he seems to ignore. "Take her away," he says.

The guards lead her to the dungeon and lock her up in the same cell she was in last time.

She knows Austin isn't going to come for a midnight conversation this time. It's too dangerous, and he probably can't handle seeing her again like this.

She's on her own. So she grips the locket around her neck, curls up in the least painful position she can, and manages to fall asleep.

She dreams of Austin. Not the outlaw Austin, though. No, she dreams of the prince inside him, and the princess inside her. She dreams of them meeting under different circumstances, had neither of them been brave enough to run away, and bonding over their mutual dislike of how their kingdoms and castles were run. She dreams of them falling in love slower than they actually had, but just as sweet. She dreams of stolen kisses in dark corners of their castles, of sweet nothings whispered to each other as they lie curled up in one of their beds. She dreams of arguments, of make-ups, of a wedding and of a future.

She wakes up longing for him, this time knowing that that longing will never be satisfied.

A guard walks over to her cell and unlocks it.

"Is it time?" she asks, sitting up. The wound in her side throbs in protest.

"Her Highness would like to speak with you."

Ally knits her eyebrows, but she doesn't fight the guard as he helps her up and roughly guides her to the throne room.

Her father isn't there.

The guard leaves, and aside from about six guards standing like statues around the perimeter of the room, Ally and her mother are alone.

"If you just want to tell me that you told me so – " Ally starts.

"No, no," her mother interrupts, standing up. "Alison, you're not going to die today."

"I'm…what?" Ally asks, dumbfounded.

"I spoke with your father, and we have both decided that it's more important to continue the royal line than to hold you to the law like a commoner. You became an outlaw, yes, but if you are willing to turn yourself around and become Queen, we will lift your punishment."

Ally's speechless. Did her mother really convince her father to let her live? Ally didn't think her mother cared about her at all, other than to be Queen. And although that's the reason she gives for saving her, she can tell by the look in her eyes that it's more than that.

"The people hate me," Ally finally blurts. Then she clears her throat. "They wouldn't want me as Queen."

"I'm sure they'd get over it." Her mother smiles at her. "The people can be pushovers if the King and Queen change their opinion."

Ally isn't sure what's gotten into the Queen, but she tries her best to get past her confusion and think straight.

"I…I can't be Queen, mother. That's why I left in the first place. I respect you, I do, but I'm not you. I can't just sit around silently when I know how to help the kingdom. I can't be a 'lady.' That's not me."

"We can find a compromise. Alison, darling, you're my only daughter, my only _child_. I can't lose you to some law that you can easily be saved from. I haven't been much of a mother to you, but after losing you to the outlaws and then almost watching you die, I realized that being a mother must come above being a Queen. And if we can be patient with each other, I believe that you can be an excellent queen, without losing yourself in the process."

Ally swallows, fighting back tears. This is all she's ever wanted to hear from her mother. _Understanding_.

"O – Okay," she stammers.

The Queen smiles in relief. "However, there are a few traditions you must keep. You must still go through your classes, as well as an extra etiquette class."

"I – I can do that," Ally says, reaching up to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

"And you must marry at the age of twenty-one. That gives you a little over a year to find a suitor. Your father and I will be sending notices to neighboring kingdoms, but you must marry a prince."

She says those last words pointedly, giving Ally a stern look. Ally can't help but blush, suddenly embarrassed that her mother seems so disappointed at her falling in love with an outlaw.

But Ally isn't embarrassed of him. Never of him. She looks down as memories of Austin flood her head.

"I'm sorry, darling," her mother says gently. And despite the fact that it's the first time in years her mother has used that tone with her, Ally can't get past the sadness. "It's the way things have to be. He's an outlaw, to be punished for his crimes anyway."

This time Ally looks up. "They're going to kill him?"

"If they capture him, he'll be hanged. That's just how it is. He's an outlaw, not a prince."

 _But he is_. She debates telling her mother his secret, but then worries that he would possibly get an even worse punishment if they knew, despite the fact that he told her his parents would take him back in an instant.

Besides, he said he'd never go back, anyway.

"And if he manages to stay away from the guards?"

"Well, you'll be Queen after you're married."

Ally manages a small smile. He just has to last a year, and then she can save him.

Unless it's one of the other kingdoms he's wanted in that catches him.

She pushes that thought from her mind.

"Thank you, mother," she finally says. "For…for saving me."

The Queen brushes her fingers over Ally's cheek, such a small gesture, but so unfamiliar that it's slightly overwhelming. Is this how things are going to be now? Now that her mother knows what it's like to lose her, will she _actually_ keep her word and act like a mother?

Ally gives the Queen a small smile and does the best curtsy she can manage with her wound.

"Take her to the hospital wing," her mother announces.

Guards whisk her away, but despite the pain in her side, she finds herself smiling.

* * *

She's healing nicely now, and since it's been a few weeks and everything has died down a bit, she's started her classes again. But it's different. Her tutors are kinder, more patient. In etiquette class, her mother is the same. In fact, she actually _talks_ to her, instead of just correcting her wrongdoings.

It's…nice.

But that doesn't mean she doesn't miss Austin like crazy.

She wonders if he'd be disappointed in her, going back to the old ways because she was too afraid to die. Then again, didn't he say he'd go back to his old kingdom if it was a matter of life and death?

And besides, things aren't _exactly_ how they used to be. They're different, better, almost enjoyable. Ally is taking her training more seriously, knowing now that if she wants to fix the way people are treated in her kingdom, she has to be a queen to do it. And besides, all these people are trying to do is make her the best she can be. Are they really so different than Austin was when he was teaching her to fight?

Speaking of which, Ally will often sneak into the weapons room to keep up her sword and archery skills. Just in case.

And because she misses it.

She's gotten used to the dresses again, and instead of feeling weighed down by them, she now feels more elegant, as though her training with the outlaws to be alert and light on her feet have made her into less of a clutz and more of a graceful royal.

Funny how that works.

On Mondays her day is crowded with meeting suitor after suitor. She tries to be polite, and most of them are very nice, but none of them are Austin.

A few, however, have been the opposite of nice. Despite their royal upbringing, some of these princes have horrible personalities. Some teased her for being tainted by the outlaws; others came dressed in a blond wig and green clothes. A few of those meaner ones actually get her for a second, before they break down in obnoxious laughter and tell her she could never be a Queen if she was in love with an outlaw.

And without anyone but a few stone-still guards in the room with her and whichever suitor she was with, she felt small, vulnerable. And she hated it.

She always takes dinner in her room on those awful Mondays, and her mother usually comes in to try to comfort her, while also hesitantly reminding her that she does have to choose a husband before she can be Queen.

However, even if it takes her longer than her parents want, she isn't going to be hanged. She's gained their trust back, the _kingdom's_ trust back. But now it's a matter of disappointing her mother, which she doesn't want to do.

Late at night, Ally will sometimes escape her room and wander the hallways of the castle, making a point to walk past the closet with the entrance to the tunnel more than once. She never told her parents that she told the outlaws about it, but the outlaws haven't come. They must understand that it's probably more dangerous for her than it is for them to do so, and of course her friends want to keep her out of danger.

That is, if they even know she's alive.

The thought of them believing her to be dead chills her to the bone, and with her busy schedule she doesn't have much time to think about them in general, much less that in particular.

Still, late at night when she's trying to fall asleep in her palace bed, she can't help but think about her small treehouse and the camp in the woods and the friends that she misses like crazy.

* * *

 **sorry for the wait! I don't really know how the response to this chapter is going to be, but I hope you liked it! sadly there's only one chapter left and then it's OVER! crazy, huh? anyway thanks for reading! love you alllllllll :D**


	21. Chapter 21

It's impossible to say how long she spends poring over list after list of the names and pictures of all the suitors who have come to visit her in the past year. It's not like she wants to, of course, but her mother is very adamant about her choosing a husband by the time she's twenty-one, which is only a few months away.

Either way it sucks, because even if she _were_ to see someone that she might be interested in (even though she already met him and sent him away) she now hardly has any time to get to know him before she reaches the age at which she's to get married. It's kind of a lose-lose for her. And while she's tried to get her favorite blond outlaw out of her head, he just won't stop appearing in the back of her mind.

Fortunately, he hasn't been captured yet – by the knights in her kingdom or by those in any other. He's still wandering free in the forest with everyone else, and she often finds herself imaging what each person might be doing.

It's in this activity that she finds herself being distracted yet again from the lists of suitors. Exhaling in defeat, she sets the papers down and stands up from her desk.

She has another ten suitors to meet tomorrow, and then fifteen the week after.

She honestly doesn't know how she's going to survive.

As she walks down the long hallways of the castle, she allows her thoughts to wander to her friends once again. Everything in this place reminds her of them, and she finds herself imagining them sneaking in to raid every so often.

Of course, she knows that if they did come, they would try to find her and either rescue her or just make sure she's alive and okay. And even if they didn't, she knows that she'd hear of things missing from the castle or of guards who tried to fend them off but failed.

She sighs, shaking her head to clear her thoughts as she walks in the weapons room.

The weapons room isn't so much a weapons _room_ as it is a weapons _wing_. There's one locked doorway that only the upper-class knights and the king have the key to (she had her father's key copied without him knowing), but the room opens up into a massive hallway that branches off into smaller areas with each specific type of weapon, as well as a slightly larger area for armor.

Ally makes her way to the back and picks up a bow and some arrows from a shelf. She walks to where there's a line of targets hung on the wall and begins practicing her aim.

She's definitely improved since she left the camp, with all the practicing she does to clear her mind. Now, she hits the middle of the target almost every time, save for a fluke or two every so often.

Usually, target practice is good for helping her focus on something other than her old friends, but today is apparently worse than the others. She practices for hours on end, and still the only thing she can think about is the outlaws, and mainly Austin.

She knew she'd miss him, but she never realized just _how much_ she had grown accustomed to him in her life. It's been a year since she last saw him, and she _still_ remembers everything about him perfectly, from his smile to his voice to those not-so-cold hazel eyes.

Eventually she gives up and puts the weapons away, sneaking back out of the weapons room (not that anyone important will see her – her father is out of town negotiating with another kingdom on a trade agreement) and making her way back upstairs. Looking out the massive windows lining the hallway, she sees that it's nighttime. She really was in there for a while.

Knowing she has a long, tiring day ahead of her tomorrow, she goes straight up to her room and changes into her nightgown, not bothering to call for any maids. Then she collapses in bed and tries to fall asleep, which proves quite difficult, as per usual, because now is the usual time when Austin makes a very prominent appearance in her thoughts.

Has it really been a year?

She shifts her position under the covers and feels herself drifting off as she imagines herself back in her treehouse with Austin a few doors down.

* * *

The day went on, and somewhere between Prince Terrence Buckingham from the Oyazraborg Dynasty and Prince Sebastian Gainsborough from the Uhaekhovaria Empire she found herself going into a sort of daze as she met her suitors. And now that they're all gone, she can hardly remember who was who.

A red head with green eyes and too much acne; a blond with blue eyes and a devilish smirk as he told her he knew she was into blonds; a raven-haired prince with a lopsided crown on his head and eyes that were almost black; a brunette with hazel eyes that reminded her painfully of Austin; a pale, lanky, awkward boy with hair that was almost white. These are the kinds of things she remembers. Hardly any of their names, not a thing about their personalities, and almost nothing of their conversations. Just looks, maybe a memorable phrase from them, but nothing to really grasp.

So as she sits with her mother that night trying to tell her about all the suitors she met that day, it proves to be quite a difficult task.

"Alison," the queen sighs, "how can you expect to find someone if you can't even remember them? I'm trying my best to give you as many options as I can; your father just wanted to choose someone for you."

"I know," Ally says. "I'm trying, I really am. It's just…difficult."

"Sweetheart, you're going to have to get over him at some point." Her mother places a hand on her knee.

"I've been trying to. Everything reminds me of him."

"He's not in your life anymore, honey."

Ally sighs. "I know that. I know I'm never going to see him again and he probably thinks I'm dead anyway and he's probably moved on since it's been a year but I just _can't_ let him go."

"And even if you _did_ see him again, what then?" her mother tries. "You know your father wouldn't approve, and quite frankly I wouldn't allow you to marry a criminal either. You need a _prince_."

Ally almost tells his secret again. But she keeps her mouth shut. She doesn't know why she's still keeping it, though. Her parents don't really even speak to Austin's, as their kingdoms don't have much to do with each other, but for some reason Ally still refuses to betray Austin's trust. His secret is like the last thing of him she has.

Well, and the gold necklace she still wears around her neck. And the scar that's still quite visible on her side where he stabbed her.

Her hand moves to the charm on the necklace, as it usually does when she misses him too much.

"I know," she finally says, looking down.

Her mother sighs and takes a breath to speak, but then there's a knock at Ally's bedroom door and it opens without waiting for a response. Both Ally and the queen snap their heads in that direction.

A guard is standing there, a look of urgency on his face as he makes a hasty bow and looks at the queen.

"I'll be right back," she says, standing up and following the guard out of the room.

Ally frowns and debates following them, but she's had such a long day that she decides to forgo the adventure and go to sleep instead.

Once again not bothering to call for any maids to help her, she slips into her nightgown and starts getting ready for bed. But before she can really do much except clean up her room, a butler walks in after knocking hastily.

"My apologies, Your Majesty," he says quickly. "The Queen has instructed me to summon you as soon as possible. There's another suitor here to see you."

"But – " she starts.

"Again, my apologies. Her Highness says it is crucial that you come meet him now."

Ally sighs. "Alright. I'll be down in a minute."

The butler nods and leaves the room, shutting the door behind him. Ally gets dressed again and checks herself in the mirror. Deciding that she's presentable enough, she makes her way downstairs to the foyer where she's met all the other suitors.

Her mother stops her before she can walk in.

"Alison, I just want to – "

"If he insists on seeing me now, I refuse to be polite," she snaps back. "Don't be too embarrassed by me, though – I doubt he's worth my time anyway."

She brushes past the queen, deciding to wait until later to feel guilty for snapping at her, and walks in the room.

"I don't know who you think you are or why you think you're so important that you can't wait a week until you meet me, but let me just tell you right now that you may as well go home because I will not even _consider_ you – "

Her words get caught in her throat when the suitor's head snaps up to look at her.

Messy blond hair. Wide, hazel eyes. A crown that looks so out of place yet so _right_ on top of his head. Royal attire. He's almost unrecognizable, but she knows. Just the electricity that fills the room when their eyes meet is more than enough to make it obvious that it's him.

And then, just like that, the intensity's gone and the surprised, awestruck look on his face melts into a lopsided smile as he gives her an exaggerated bow, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Come on, Princess," he says, his voice exactly as she remembers it, "at least let me introduce myself."

She can't move, can't speak, can't do much of _anything_ as she stares at him in shock.

"Prince Austin Moon of Equivaria," he continues, his smile turning into a grin at her reaction (or lack of, depending on how you look at it). "I would've gotten here faster, but I had to fight off a bear on my way here." He winks at her, and suddenly she can breathe again.

She can't get to him fast enough. But when she does, his arms are there, holding her just like they used to, one hand in her hair while the other is on her back. She buries her face in his shoulder, tightening her grip around his neck, not saying anything because right now she doesn't have to – everything she could possibly want to say right now he already knows.

"If I didn't know any better I'd think you _missed_ me or something," he mutters in her ear, his voice dripping with lighthearted sarcasm but also with that _love_ she's been longing for.

She laughs a bit, tears pricking at her eyes as she tightens her grip around him even more. "I can't believe you're here."

He pulls away enough to look at her, cupping her cheeks in his hands and wiping away the few tears that have escaped. She searches his eyes, still trying to fully take in that he's _actually_ here in front of her.

"You're supposed to be _happy_ to see me," he teases gently, "not _crying_."

She laughs and sniffles. "I hate you," she says. "What are you _doing_ here?"

"There was a flyer that said Princess Alison Dawson of Egaia was looking for a prince to take as a husband. And I'm a prince. So I figured that I should probably come."

"But how…you said you'd never go back."

"Unless it was life and death. My original plan was to go back and then somehow save you before they could kill you, but…looks like you're pretty okay without me."

"My mom convinced my dad to _not_ kill me. Keeping the royal family and all that."

"I'm glad. My plan never would've worked. And when I realized that, I put all my focus in becoming the best prince and future king ever, along with pardoning everyone else because my parents wanted to hang them, but that only took a short conversation and some yelling. And then I saw the flyer, and after, like, ten months of convincing, my parents finally let me come. And trust me, I tried sneaking out before that, but they had _double_ the guards on me that they used to, and – "

"I get it," she interrupts, giggling at his rambling.

"Am…am I too late?" he asks, suddenly sounding nervous. It's strange to her, as he's really not the nervous type.

"What?"

"Well, it's been a year. You've probably seen hundreds of other princes by now, and most of them are probably more qualified than me since they've grown up as royalty, and a year is a long time to be apart from someone."

Ally laughs at the absolute ridiculousness of the thought that she could possibly move on from him.

"None of them were you."

Austin exhales in relief and leans his forehead against hers.

"I love you," he whispers.

She closes her eyes, sighing at the sound of those words coming from him after so long. "I love you, too."

* * *

It's surprising how quickly things can feel normal. Like seeing Austin looking like a real prince, for example. It only took a few minutes for it to feel familiar, even though before he came to her she had only seen him like that when they went to the ball.

The countless rules the two of them have to follow feel normal now, too, even though it's only been two weeks since he came back. She chose him, of course, and right now they're in the courting phase.

No, not the kind of courting that a knight does before battle. _This_ courting is the 'Royal dating' kind, where they've either been betrothed to each other or chosen each other, but either way everyone knows marriage is in their future.

She can't even remember all the rules, to be quite honest, but that doesn't really matter because Austin _does_ remember them. Apparently he put a lot of thought into this and focused on knowing the do's and don'ts of courting a princess.

But that doesn't mean that they don't sneak around and break them whenever they can. They _are_ former outlaws, after all.

Austin's been living at the castle in one of the guest rooms for the past two weeks, as they've only got a month before they're supposed to be married and it'd be pointless for him to go back with all the trips he'd have to make in order to plan everything.

His parents are on their way here, too, and they sent the wedding invitations only a few days after she chose him so that their guests could make the journey on time.

Another thing that became familiar quickly was talking about the wedding with him. Back when they were still in the forest, they had been focused on surviving and, well, _not_ getting married. She's still young, and if it was up to them they probably wouldn't be getting married for a few more years, if at all.

But now it feels like they've been engaged for months instead of just a few weeks. Even though he hasn't _officially_ proposed yet, which has frustrated her parents beyond belief, they don't really have time to wait for that before planning the wedding.

So they talk flowers and decorations and food and all the other wedding necessities as though they're speaking about the weather or the latest news, but she still doesn't have a ring on her finger. And despite the fact that she would've rather gotten married when she was a little older than twenty-one, talking about a wedding with Austin without _technically_ being engaged yet still makes her slightly impatient.

And he knows it.

"Ally, wake up," Austin says, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Did you hear any of that?"

She gives him a look. "Yes. I was paying _super_ close attention to you debating the difference between light cream colored table cloths versus eggshell table cloths."

Austin rolls his eyes. "Well, if you were paying such close attention, which do you prefer?"

"I don't see a difference," she says, looking at the two cloth swatches he's been weighing in his hands. "They're literally the exact same color."

"Please," he scoffs, rolling his eyes.

She stands up from the chair she's sitting on and moves to sit on the couch next to him. He sighs and sets the cloths down, draping an arm over her shoulders.

This is breaking the rules, of course. How _dare_ they actually _touch_ each other before getting married?!

"What if we just do something simple? You, me, our parents, and the others."

"This is the wedding of the century, Princess. Doubt that would fly with anyone."

"Yeah, but it's _our_ wedding. Don't we get any say at all?"

"We would, if you could just choose between eggshell and light cream."

Ally chuckles, leaning her head on his shoulder. He rests his head on top of hers. "I thought you'd be the one against us being constantly told what to do and what _not_ to do, not me."

"I was trying for almost a year to get to you. And now that I'm with you again, I can deal with everything they're throwing at us. And besides, at least they're letting us plan it. It's kinda fun if you let it be fun."

"Maybe to you. I think I'd take the plant paste over this."

Austin laughs, lifting his head. She lifts hers too.

"You're impossible," he tells her, his voice laced with adoration.

"One of us has to be."

Just then, the door opens and both of their parents walk in.

Immediately both of them sigh and move apart before their parents can scold them.

Their biggest problem right now is that Ally's parents aren't too fond of Austin. But for some reason Austin's parents _love_ Ally, probably because she's pretty much the reason Austin went back to them and she's been on her best behavior while they've been here.

Ally's father glares at Austin, and the blond grins back at him.

"How's the planning coming?" Queen Mimi asks them after kissing her son's head.

"It's coming," Austin replies.

"You've only got two weeks," Ally's father says. "It should already be planned by now."

"We're working on it," Ally says. "We've only _had_ two weeks to start."

"Well, we took the liberty to narrow down your food and cake choices for the reception. You two are needed in the dining hall to taste test and make your decisions," her father tells them.

Austin and Ally look at each other. If there's one thing they can agree on, it's that the food is the best part of coming back to their kingdoms.

"Alright," Ally says, standing up. Austin follows.

"Have fun," Ally's mother says with a smile.

She's not sure why all four parents had to come in the room to tell them that, but she shrugs it off and walks with Austin to the dining hall.

"See, I think _this_ will be my favorite part of planning the wedding," Ally decides.

"You're not mad they narrowed our choices?"

"Not really. I don't need you struggling with the decision between French vanilla and vanilla bean frosting on the cake."

"Ouch," he teases.

They arrive at the dining hall, and already the long table is covered with different platters for them to try.

"Wow," she says as they walk over to the two chairs a butler has pulled out for them.

"Yeah," he replies, sitting down next to her.

For the next three hours, they stuff themselves with small bites of dozens of different hors-d'oeuvres and entrées and sides and desserts. They decide on shrimp cocktails, deviled eggs, and mini quiches for their hors-d'oeuvres; baked Dijon salmon, bourbon pecan chicken, and arugula salad for their entrées; a garden salad with a light vinaigrette and a carrot vichyssoise soup for their sides; and baked Alaska and a frozen anisette soufflé for dessert.

Now, all they have left to do is decide on a cake.

"I don't think I can eat any more," Austin complains, leaning back in his chair and placing a hand on his stomach.

"Maybe if you didn't shovel half of every dish in your mouth you wouldn't be having this problem," Ally tells him, giving him a pointed look.

Austin rolls his eyes and sits back up as a few butlers bring out their cake options.

They eventually decide on a hazelnut cream cake, and they leave the cook to let his creativity wander with his own decoration and frosting of it.

Then they leave the dining hall, their stomachs about ready to burst.

"I need a nap," Austin decides.

"Then go take a nap," she tells him with a chuckle.

"I have a better idea," he replies, grabbing her hand and dragging her down the hall to the weapons room. "Hurry, before anyone sees!"

"Austin, you're too tired. We can't have you stabbing me again."

Austin gives her a look, and she giggles quietly. She knows the guilt of that incident is still eating away at him, but she can't help but tease him for it.

"I'm sorry," she says. "Go take a nap. We'll go later."

"Fine," he mutters. "Only because now I'm mad at you."

And then he walks away, but she knows he's not _actually_ mad.

She walks back upstairs to her room, and she's greeted by her tailor, who has been focused solely on making her wedding dress for the past two weeks.

"I've been looking for you!" Johnathan exclaims.

"Here I am," Ally replies with a giggle.

"What do you think of this fabric? It's a bit of a light cream color, but – "

"White, please," Ally interrupts. "Just white. No eggshell or light cream or anything else. Just plain, pretty white. You can go all out on the design, though, if you'd like."

"All out, hmm?"

Ally nods. "I know you will, anyway."

"This is true, Your Majesty. The Prince is going to be _drooling_."

Ally smiles. "Yes, well, that's not such a hard thing to accomplish when it comes to him. He _adores_ me," she teases.

"He does, indeed," Johnathan agrees. "Anyway, I have a few designs done so far. Would you like to see them?"

"Of course," Ally replies. Honestly, one of her favorite parts about planning this wedding has been thinking about her dress. Now that she's come to terms with the heavy dresses, she enjoys them a lot. And thinking of Austin's reaction when he sees her walking down the aisle always gives her something to laugh about.

Johnathan opens his sketchbook and flips to a page covered in different designs. "This one is the most elegant, I believe," he explains, pointing to one that would hug the upper half of her body and flare out at her waist, as most of her dresses do. "Plus, there are many small details I could add to it to make it even better. However, it does look quite like the styles you normally wear, which are beautiful of course, but you probably want something different, yes?"

Ally nods. "I like this one, too," she says, pointing to another design that is still the same general style of her other dresses, except the flare at her waist isn't quite as dramatic and there is a small trail of fabric on the back, and the sleeves would hang gracefully off her shoulders.

"My second choice," Johnathan agrees with a nod. "It would look stunning on you."

"Then let's go with that one," Ally says. "I'm sure you'll make it even better than I could imagine."

"Excellent," Johnathan says, closing his sketchbook. "Now there's pressure."

Ally chuckles and Johnathan gives her a small bow before leaving the room.

She tries to focus on the books her mother gave her to study on how to be a successful queen, but various people continue to barge into her room to ask her questions about the wedding. Eventually, she just gives up and decides to go wake up Austin so they can go hide in the weapons room.

She walks in his bedroom and is met with a pillow being chucked at her face.

"Just let me _sleep_!" she hears Austin's groggy, whiny voice from beneath a mountain of blankets and pillows. "If you have any questions that are _that_ urgent, ask the Princess."

Ally chuckles and shuts the door behind her. "They're bombarding you, too?"

Austin groans in annoyance at the thought. "When are they not?"

"Two weeks," Ally reminds him. "And then the wedding will be over and we can finally relax."

" _No_ , because then we'll be King and Queen and we'll have a whole _new_ set of problems to deal with."

"But the wedding won't be one of them."

Austin mutters something that she doesn't hear through all the blankets and pillows that are still piled on top of him.

"Maybe we can put off the coronation for a little bit," she suggests. "Go off somewhere for a week or two where we can just relax."

He scoffs. "Like our parents would ever let us."

"Maybe if we tell them it'll speed up the process of producing an heir – "

"Don't put that thought in their minds. Because then they'll probably just put us in some sort of solitary confinement."

Ally chuckles and walks over to sit on the edge of his bed. Immediately his hand appears from under the covers and searches for hers. She smiles and takes it.

"At least then we'd have some privacy," she says.

"Yeah, but not for long."

"Don't be mopey," she whines.

"I'm not being mopey." He shifts under the blankets and pillows, squeezing her hand.

"You are. You're being mopey and moody."

"It's my wedding and I'll mope if I want to."

"It's also _my_ wedding, and it's not for another two weeks."

"Yeah. And then we'll be married," he says quietly, barely loud enough for her to hear.

"And the King and Queen of two kingdoms."

"Not sure which one is scarier."

"Come on, I'm not _that_ scary," she teases.

"No, but getting married is a pretty big deal."

"So was falling in love. And we're still alive, aren't we?"

"Yeah. I'm not saying I _don't_ wanna marry you. It's just…fast. I mean, we _have_ only been back together for two weeks, and only another two weeks until we're _married_? And we have to balance that, plus ruling _two_ kingdoms, and that'll be hard enough without everyone still being iffy because we were both outlaws. And how long until we're expected to have kids? It's just…a lot."

Ally purses her lips. "Is that why you haven't proposed yet?"

The blankets shift again as he pulls them down to reveal his face. He looks tired and slightly uncomfortable, but he sits up and moves to sit next to her.

"I mean…we've been planning this wedding practically since the day you came. But technically you're supposed to officially propose, and…you haven't yet." She looks at him.

He pulls their hands into his lap, staring at their intertwined fingers as he rubs her knuckles with his thumb.

"I didn't really think about that part until they whisked us off and started drowning us in rules and lists of wedding preparations that had to be made within a month," he admits. "I mean, I knew it was coming. I guess I just figured we'd have more time."

Ally bites her lip. "You could've mentioned that before we set a date. Putting it off now would look bad."

"See, that's just it," he says, raising his head to meet her eyes. "This whole thing is about appearances. You're _supposed_ to get married at twenty-one. We're _supposed_ to become King and Queen right after we're married. We're _supposed_ to have this perfect wedding and perfect kids and a perfect life. All of this is just what _looks_ good. And I'm not saying that I _don't_ want all that with you, because you know I do. It's just…all too much at once. When I came back, I kinda hoped we'd have time to just _be_ together before all this craziness."

"But we don't. That's the way it is."

"I guess I just thought that if they realized I hadn't proposed yet they'd put it off until I did."

"And how long would that take? If it were up to you, I mean."

Austin shrugs. "I don't know."

"Exactly," Ally replies.

Austin sighs. "It's hard to even think about it with all the chaos."

"This is how things are gonna be," she reminds him.

"What happened to relaxing?"

"Well, you're right. We'll be King and Queen with two kingdoms to rule."

The blond looks down at their hands again. "I've fought a countless number of knights and guards. I've killed just about every kind of animal that lives in those forests. I saved you from the gallows. But none of that even came close to preparing me to be a king. Much less a husband. I mean, at least I've already got some training under my belt to be King."

"You're _that_ scared of marrying me?" She can hear the hurt in her own voice.

His head snaps up to look at her again, his eyes wide. "I didn't mean – it's not because – I – " He stops and swallows. "I love you," he tells her, searching her eyes. "Don't ever doubt that I love you. I'm not – I'm not worried about that part of it. It's more…" he sighs and looks down again. "I don't know. I can't explain it."

"It's like back when we were debating on being together or not, yeah? You didn't wanna try to talk about it because you thought it would be easier to just leave it as you like me and I like you. You thought being together would complicate things."

"I…yeah," he admits. "It was like, I knew it wouldn't be as scary as I thought it was, but the whole idea of it seemed like this huge deal that I didn't wanna screw up."

"So you're worried that because all this is coming so fast, you don't have time to prepare yourself and you're afraid of messing up," she says.

He nods, exhaling in what she thinks is _relief_.

"Yeah…yeah, that's it," he says quietly. "I couldn't figure out what was freaking me out so much. That's – that's what it is."

"Well," she begins, lifting his chin so he looks at her, "I think that you're stressing over nothing. You said so yourself, _I'm_ the impossible one, not you. So if anything, _I_ should be worried about messing up, yeah?"

He smiles a bit at that. "You know I'd love you no matter what you did."

"Ah, I _do_ know that," she says. "But do _you_?"

Austin purses his lips, and Ally pats his cheek fondly. "Get some sleep," she tells him. "I'll go tell everyone not to bother you."

She starts standing up, but Austin pulls on the hand he's still holding. She turns to look at him, and immediately his lips are on hers.

They haven't really kissed since he got back. A quick peck here and there, when they knew no one could see them, but they've always been worried about what would happen if they got caught.

Apparently that worry went out the window in his mind.

Before she can really enjoy it, though, there's a knock at the door. Immediately, they jump apart, but not fast enough.

" _Alison_!" her mother exclaims. Fortunately, no one is with her. "Out. _Now_."

Ally sighs and rushes out with her head down, not daring to risk a look back at Austin.

"Do you _know_ how many rules you've just broken?!" her mother scolds her as she drags her down the hall by a firm grip on her wrist. "What if your father had caught you?!"

"He didn't," Ally says lamely. Her mother stops to glare at her, and she sighs. "I'm sorry," she says. "Austin and I loved each other long before I came home. We're trying our best, honest."

The queen exhales. "What were you even _doing_ in his room?!"

"We were just talking! He had only _just_ kissed me when you walked in, anyway. We're both just stressing about this wedding. It's fine, okay? We'll be better."

"You _better_ get your act together," her mother says.

"What do you need me for, anyway?" Ally asks.

"Nothing. I was _looking_ for your fiancé."

"He's trying to sleep."

"He doesn't have _time_ to sleep."

"You can see why we're so stressed out."

The queen huffs in annoyance and lets go of Ally's arm, walking away.

* * *

"What's the catch?" Austin asks as he messes with the blindfold around his eyes.

"No catch," Ally says. "I convinced them to give us the day off today. Don't touch that." She smacks his hand away from the blindfold, holding his other hand in hers.

"There's only a week until the wedding," he deadpans. "I repeat: what's the catch?"

"Still no catch."

"Where are we going?" he asks.

"Stop asking so many questions."

"You're scaring me."

"Good."

Austin exhales in frustration and Ally smiles, biting her lip as they arrive in the castle gardens. She carefully removes his blindfold and watches his face melt into a look of surprise when he takes in the picnic she set up for them under a canopy of trees.

"What…" he trails off, looking at her.

"We never got to finish that date," she says with a smile.

A smile forms on his face and she leads him to the picnic blanket, sitting down across from him.

"I know how important it was to you," she tells him. "And I know how stressed you've been. So I got us a day off to just relax."

"I can't believe you did all this for me," he says, still looking around in awe.

"Says the one who's saved my life like a million times," she replies. "Come on, it was nothing."

He looks at her. "It's everything."

She chuckles a bit. "Austin, it's just a picnic."

"No, it's not just a picnic," he says. "It's – it's you _knowing_ that this is what I've been needing. It's you understanding why I was so freaked out about the wedding. It's you being patient and not freaking out that I haven't proposed yet. It's you managing to get us a day off to just be _us_ and surprising me with this instead of doing something super extravagant."

"We'll have enough extravagant at the wedding to last a lifetime. Honestly, this isn't that big a deal," she says, blushing slightly.

"I love you."

She laughs a bit. "I love you, too. If I knew this would be so important to you I would've done it two weeks ago."

Austin smiles slightly and kisses her cheek.

Once they start eating, they fall into a conversation that _finally_ isn't about the wedding or their future. It's just about them, catching up on the year they spent without each other.

"Trish misses you," Austin tells her. "And Dez. And everyone else, really."

"Are they coming next week?" she asks.

"When I showed them the flyer before I left they swore they wouldn't miss it," Austin replies with a grin.

She smiles too. "I'm glad. I miss them, too."

They finish eating, and Ally starts cleaning up.

"Ally," Austin says, the tone of his voice causing her to stop what she's doing and look at him. "You're my everything."

"I know," she says with a small smile.

"N – no, you don't. You mean so much to me…not even _I_ really know. I told you once that I couldn't live without you, remember that?"

"Of course I do. It was when I came back after you saved me from the execution."

He nods. "I…I _literally_ can't live without you. In that year when you were gone, I could hardly even function. I was – I was _consumed_ with trying to get back to you. It's…it's crazy just how much I love you."

She blushes. "I love you, too."

"I'm not finished," he says, kind of in a rush. He stands up, and she follows. "When we met, I didn't like you. You know that. And you were scared of me. So – so how did we go from that to this? We went from almost killing each other every day to _needing_ each other. It's insane. But at the same time I can't imagine it any other way."

"Austin – "

But suddenly he's on one knee and pulling a ring box she didn't even know he _had_ out of his pocket.

"I know this is pretty much pointless considering we're literally getting married in a week, but I want you to know that you're everything I could ever want and I'm ready for whatever happens because I know I'll have you by my side. So…will you marry me?"

He opens the ring box and there it is: the ring she's been dying to wear on her finger for the past three weeks. But if she's being honest, it was worth the stress and the wait for this moment.

She laughs a bit and nods. "Only because it would look bad if I said no."

He laughs with her and slips the ring on her finger, standing up to kiss her. If anyone sees them, they don't stop them.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do with you," he whispers against her lips.

"Please, you've been thinking about what you're gonna do with me after we're married since you got here."

"I love you," he says, ignoring her teasing.

She smiles. "I love you, too."

* * *

"Austin, come on. I have to go," she tries again. But his arm is draped over her and holding her securely against him as he pretends to still be asleep.

"I'm serious," she says. "I've only got six hours to get ready for the wedding. And someone's gonna catch us."

"We're not doing anything wrong," he whines, his lips against her hair.

"They'd think we did."

"Don't go."

"I have to."

"I won't be able to see you until we're in front of everyone."

"And then you'll be able to see me as often as you want after the wedding."

"When I'm King I'm gonna pass a law decreeing that no one is allowed to take you away from me or they shall be put to death."

"You do that," she says. "But you won't be able to until you're King. Which is after the coronation. Which is after the wedding. Which won't happen if I'm not ready in time or someone catches us."

Austin sighs. "I hate when you're right."

She shifts in his arms so she's facing him, and he opens his eyes to look at her.

"I'll see you tonight, yeah?"

"I'll be the one at the altar," he says in defeat.

She smiles and presses a light kiss to his lips.

"And I'll be the one in white."

He releases her, and she gets up and grabs her ring off his bedside table, leaving his room before anyone can catch them. Then she hurries to her own room and calls for her maids.

She remembers her old maid, Elena. She hasn't seen much of her since she got home, but the one time she did see her she was working in the kitchen. But either way, older maids do their jobs better anyway.

"Your Majesty," one of the maids says. "Happy wedding day."

Ally smiles and looks at the ring in her hand. "Thank you," she says. "Will you please draw a bath for me?"

The maids hurry off to prepare her bath, and she sets her ring in the drawer she's been keeping it in when she's not wearing it.

If she's being honest, she can't wait for this day to be over. She hardly slept last night, even with Austin next to her, because of her nerves. She wishes she could skip the wedding and coronation and just be _married_ to him already, but she knows that that's not possible.

The maids call her into the bathroom and she slips off her nightgown, relaxing into the warm bubble bath.

The maids leave her be, and she gives herself a few minutes to relax before washing herself and getting out, slipping on her robe.

"We've only got a few hours," she announces. "I don't know where my mother is, but we should probably start getting ready without her."

* * *

"Where _are_ they?" Ally mutters to herself as she paces her room. It's become an absolute mess of hair and makeup products as the maids have been rushing to get her ready. "They arrived last night, and the maids should've been getting them ready all this morning. They should be here for finishing touches by now!"

Trish is her maid of honor, of course, and Carrie, Piper, and the rest of her former outlaw friends are her bridesmaids. She hasn't gotten to see them yet, and the fact that there are only two hours until the wedding and they're still not here is really stressing her out.

"Your Majesty, I'm sure – "

Her maid is interrupted by the door swinging open and in rushing the girls, squealing Ally's name and attacking her in a group hug.

She sighs in relief, laughing with her friends.

"What took you so long?!" she exclaims.

"We slept kinda late," Piper says sheepishly. "The beds here are _insanely_ comfy."

Ally giggles. "Well, I'm glad you're here now. I've missed you!"

She hugs all of them again.

"It's been way too quiet without you," Trish teases. "Glad you're not dead."

Ally laughs more. "Come on," she says. "I'll call for more maids to do the finishing touches on your hair and makeup. Then we can all change."

"Are you excited?!" Kira squeals. "You're marrying Austin!"

"I'm more just worried that I'm gonna trip walking down the aisle," she admits.

"Wouldn't be surprised," Piper says, nudging her with a grin.

For the next hour, the girls laugh and talk as the maids pamper them and get them ready for the wedding. Then they change into their dresses.

The colors of the wedding are the Egaia Royal colors: royal purple, maroon, and gold. So the bridesmaids' dresses are maroon with elegant gold embroidery, all in different yet similar styles.

Ally's dress is white, of course, in the design that she chose when Johnathan came in to ask her. It has beautiful gold accents: swirling, shimmering designs on the skirt and a small amount of golden sparkles on the bodice. It's got the look of a princess, but it gives her the aura of a queen. She smiles at herself in the mirror.

"Ally, you look _gorgeous_ ," Trish gasps as the other girls gush at her.

"Like a queen!" Carrie agrees.

"Austin is going to _die_."

" _I'm_ going to die."

"Can I marry that dress?"

Ally giggles. "We should probably head down to the Great Hall now. The wedding is soon."

She and the girls walk to their designated places, meeting Austin's groomsmen and her father outside the Great Hall.

Dez immediately grins and hugs her, being careful not to wrinkle her dress. "You look beautiful," he tells her. "Austin's been worried all morning about not looking as good as you. He's got a good reason."

Ally giggles. "Thanks, Dez. I missed you."

"Of course, Your Highness." He bows, and Ally laughs more.

"Not yet," she says. "After the coronation."

Everyone else, including Austin, is already inside the Great Hall waiting for the wedding to start.

"Alison," her father says next to her. She looks at him, and he smiles at her. "I'm proud of you."

"Even though I'm marrying Austin Moon?"

He chuckles and nods. "Even though you're marrying Austin Moon. He's not so bad, I guess."

Ally smiles. Before she knows it the music is starting and pairs of bridesmaids and groomsmen are walking down the aisle to their places one at a time. Ally adjusts the tiara on her head once more before she hears her cue in the music and walks into the room, gripping her bouquet of flowers so hard her knuckles are white.

At first, she can't see Austin. She's too focused on all the people turning around to watch her as her father walks her down the aisle. But then she looks ahead and there he is, in a white ensemble with gold accents to match her dress. He's got his crown on his head, and she finds herself instantly relaxing at how comfortable he looks wearing it.

Then he sees her, and his eyes go wide, a small, awestruck smile forming on his face. Before she knows it she's standing in front of him, and her father is setting her hand in his, and Austin is grinning down at her.

"Well, funny meeting you here, kid," he jokes quietly.

"Don't start."

"Ladies and gentlemen," her father announces. "We are gathered here today to witness the union of Prince Austin Moon of Equivaria and Princess Alison Dawson of Egaia."

The wedding proceeds and goes perfectly as planned. They say their vows and kiss for the first time without getting in trouble.

Immediately after the wedding, Austin, Ally, and the guests are whisked out of the Great Hall and into the Throne Room for Austin and Ally's coronation.

Many other spectators from both kingdoms file into the Throne Room to watch the coronation as well. There are so many people Ally can't even see the floor.

Ally's father calls for the guests to be silenced as the coronation begins.

"Prince Austin Moon of Equivaria, please step forward," the king says. Austin steps up to the throne and bows while Ally's father takes off his crown and holds it in front of him. Austin places a hand on it. "Do you, Prince Austin Moon of Equivaria, hereby swear to rule your kingdom with honor and justice?"

Austin swallows, staring Ally's father in the eyes. "I do."

"Princess Alison Moon of Egaia, please step forward," Ally's mother says. Ally's heart pounds at the sound of her new name as takes the few shaky steps to her mother's throne and curtsies, bowing her head and trying to calm her nerves. When she looks back up, her mother is holding her crown in front of her, smiling. Ally places her hand on the crown. "Do you, Princess Alison Moon of Egaia, hereby swear to rule your kingdom with honor and justice?"

"I do," she says for about the millionth time that day. Her mother smiles proudly, tears in her eyes.

Together, she and Austin turn around to face their guests. She feels Austin's hand grip hers and squeeze it tightly as their crowns are removed from their heads.

She takes a deep breath when her mother places the Queen's Crown on top of her head, and she glances over at Austin receiving the King's Crown. She squeezes his hand and looks at the crowd again.

"I hereby present to you King Austin Moon and Queen Alison Moon of Egaia and Equivaria!" her father announces.

The crowd erupts into cheers, and eventually they fall into a chant of "Long live the King and Queen!"

Ally looks over at Austin, who seems to have a regal glow around him now that he's King. She smiles at him, already looking forward to what they're going to do with their kingdom.

He's smiling and waving to the crowd with his free hand, even though she can feel the hand she's holding still shaking with nerves and adrenaline.

She looks at the crowd and waves as well, proud of Austin and more importantly of herself as she smiles at her – _her_ – subjects.

* * *

She shifts in Austin's arms as she tries to get comfortable again in their bed in their bedroom.

"Just pick a position and go back to sleep," Austin whines tiredly.

She giggles and snuggles close to him, sighing contently as he tightens his arm around her. She's facing him now, and she grins at the small, sleepy smile on his face and his closed eyelids.

She tilts her head up to press a light kiss to his lips.

He doesn't say anything about her morning breath, which means he must be _really_ tired. Yesterday _was_ a long day, after all.

She closes her eyes again as he starts scratching her back gently. She starts drifting off to sleep again, but his low voice wakes her up again.

"Good morning, Your Highness."

She smiles sleepily. He must've decided that he isn't as tired as he thought. "Good morning."

She opens her eyes and sees him looking down at her through his long eyelashes, a sleepy smile on his face as well.

"You ready to rule a kingdom or two?"

"I'm ready to stay in bed all day with my husband. The whole ruling thing can wait till tomorrow."

Austin chuckles quietly and kisses her forehead. "As you wish, my Queen."

She finds herself thinking back to when she first ran away. She was hoping to find peace, an escape from her responsibilities as princess.

She found her escape alright. But peace? Not so much. Most of her time spent with the outlaws was full of fear and stress. But she did find Austin. So really that made all of it worth it.

And now, here she is, in the King and Queens' suite with her _husband_ , Austin Moon. And they're _King and Queen_. She never even imagined this could ever happen. But now that it has, she doesn't think she can imagine anything else.

She finds it almost comical that they're lying here in their comfy bed, half asleep as the sun shines through their curtains on the day after their wedding. She feels like all they've ever known is misery, whether in the form of fighting or stress or fear or near-death experiences or just being apart from each other. But they're _finally_ getting a break, and she realizes that it was all worth it. She'd willingly go through all that misery again, if just for this moment of peace.

* * *

 **And so ends Peaceful Misery...or does it? That's right, everyone, have no fear! I have decided that I will be posting a short epilogue, so it isn't quite over yet! Still, thank you all so much for sticking with me and reading this story. I love each and every one of you and you have no idea how much I appreciate your constant support of me and this story. I can't thank you enough. I love you.**


	22. Epilogue

"If you think that I'm just gonna _let you go_ , Princess, think again."

She glares into the eyes of the person who has her pinned against the wall with the edge of their sword against her neck. "That's _Queen_ , and if _you_ think that I'm not gonna get out of this, then _you_ should think again."

"You'll have to _beg_ for mercy."

Suddenly, a door opens and a young brunette pokes her head in the room. "Hey, mom – _what_ is going on?!" The poor girl screams and shuts her eyes, slamming the door. "How many times do I have to tell you, _no sex in the weapons room_?!" she shrieks from behind it.

Ally looks at her husband and rolls her eyes. "We were just _sparring_!" she calls, gently pushing Austin aside and walking over to open the door. She hears the tip of Austin's sword clang faintly against the tile as he drops his arm to his side.

"How can you expect me to trust you after… _the incident_?" Leilani complains with a shudder. "A seventeen-year-old almost-queen should _not_ have to witness her parents _doing it_!"

"Well, maybe if you stopped talking about it you'd be able to forget about it," Ally suggests, ruffling her daughter's hair.

Leilani huffs and reaches up to fix her perfect chocolate curls, rolling her eyes at her mother. "You know, some of us actually _care_ about how we look, mother. Maybe if you stopped messing with weapons and let the knights do their _jobs_ , then you'd understand."

"I'm wounded," Ally replies.

"Leilani, sweetheart, your mother is the most beautiful woman in the castle," Austin says, walking up behind Ally and planting a kiss on her head. Ally smiles. "And she could have a sword in your neck so fast you wouldn't even be able to scream. Not that she would."

"Okay, first of all, gross, and second of all, you're biased because you're married to her."

"Biased or not, what the King says goes," Ally reminds her daughter.

"Whatever. If you two are done…" Leilani clears her throat. " _Playing_ , then I really need your help."

"What's wrong?" Austin asks.

Leilani glances at him, and then looks at Ally. "Mom…?"

Ally immediately understands the look in her daughter's eyes and turns to Austin. "Can you go make sure the others ate dinner?"

Austin knits his eyebrows. "They never stop eating."

"Just be sure. Kaden and Xander were out playing in the courtyard all day, and Kaia doesn't eat anything unless it's sitting in front of her."

"Because she's three."

"Please, just – " Ally cuts off and makes shooing motions with her hands, to which Austin responds with a roll of his eyes, but he complies anyway and walks out of the room.

"I – "

"Tell me who the boy is," Ally tells her daughter, looking her in the eyes.

Leilani bites her lip. "I don't know if that's such a good idea…"

"Why not?"

"I don't want you to be mad."

Ally chuckles and rests her hands on Leilani's shoulders. "I will never be mad at you for falling in love."

"Well…he's not a prince…"

"That's fine."

"Or a knight…"

"Okay…?"

"Or a peasant…"

"To the point, please."

"He's an outlaw!" Leilani finally blurts, burying her face in her hands.

"He's a…what?"

"An outlaw," the seventeen-year-old sighs, looking at Ally again. "But – but he's not a bad person, okay? He's – he's sweet and charming and he only steals what he needs, and never from us. And – and I think he might love me too."

Leilani blushes a deep shade of pink, all the way below the neckline of her gown and up to the roots of her hair.

Ally smiles gently at her daughter. "I'm not mad, sweetheart."

"You're – you're not?"

"I told you I wouldn't be."

Leilani bites her lip. "His name is Carter Wilde."

"That's quite the name."

Ally's daughter smiles slightly. "It suits him," she says. Then, she goes back to looking nervous. "If dad finds out, he'll _flip_."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Ally says. "I think you should just tell him."

Leilani immediately starts shaking her head, eyes wide. "No. That is a very bad idea. He's the King. He could have Carter banned from the kingdom, or imprisoned, or _executed_ – "

"He wouldn't do that, sweetheart. Not to him, or to you."

Leilani knits her eyebrows together in confusion, but Ally just grimaces at the unpleasant memory that comes to mind.

"I still don't wanna tell him," the teenager says.

"So you're going to try to convince _me_ to tell him."

Leilani smiles sheepishly, giving Ally a pleading look.

Ally sighs. "When you're Queen, you're going to have to – "

"Mom, please don't turn this into one of your lessons."

"You know, when I was your age, my mother would _hammer_ boring lessons into me day after day. If you think what I'm doing is hard, you wouldn't survive an _hour_ learning how to be Queen from your grandmother."

"I know."

Ally purses her lips. "Fine, I'll tell your father."

"Thank you," Leilani exhales in relief, hugging Ally tightly.

Ally pets her daughter's hair as she returns the hug, a gesture that she got so used to doing when Leilani was younger that she never really dropped it as she grew up. She doesn't seem to mind, though, and instead she relaxes in Ally's arms. She's glad she finally got the hang of this mothering stuff.

* * *

"So, let's talk," Ally says as she sits against her pillows on the bed.

"Talking? What kind of awful thing did I do to deserve this?" Austin teases, crawling in bed next to her and leaning against his own pillows as he pulls the covers over their legs.

"Austin, I'm serious."

"Alright, alright. What's worrying your pretty little mind, Your Royal Wifeness?"

"It's not something worrying _me_ …it's something worrying Leilani."

Austin looks over at her, a look of sheer terror washing over his face. "Nothing too bad, I hope," he says carefully, his overprotective nature showing through.

"No, no. Not too bad. She's just worried you'll be mad because, well, yeah."

"I'm scared now."

Ally takes a deep breath. "Do you know who Carter Wilde is?"

"I think he's a minor outlaw running around the kingdom. His parents lived in the woods or something, and when we merged our two kingdoms they got stuck on the streets I think. We got about a dozen letters from a Wilde family about it a few years ago."

Ally purses her lips and nods.

"Why?" Austin asks. "Did something happen? Did he hurt Leilani? That – " Austin cuts off and starts getting out of bed, but Ally grabs his arm to stop him.

"He didn't hurt her," she explains. She takes a deep breath. "She's in love with him."

Austin sits back down, knitting his eyebrows and looking at Ally. She cautiously lets go of his arm, watching him.

"Our daughter…the future Queen of Egaia... _our daughter_ is in love with an _outlaw_?"

"You said he was a minor one," Ally says.

"But he's an _outlaw_."

"She _is_ her mother's daughter," she reminds her husband.

"Ally, you can't be _okay_ with this. Princesses can't just fall in love with outlaws! Especially not _our_ princess!" The blond stands up, looking stressed and frustrated.

"I think _I_ recall falling in love with an outlaw once. I think I might've married him, too," Ally says.

"I was a prince."

"A prince turned outlaw."

"Ally, that's different."

"You're right. You were the _worst_ outlaw in the country. And this Carter kid is just a minor one."

Austin runs a hand through his hair, sighing and sitting down again on the edge of the bed. Ally moves to sit next to him, gently rubbing his back as he looks down at his lap.

"Just because it worked out for us doesn't mean it's gonna work out for her," he says.

"Doesn't mean it's _not_ gonna work out for her," Ally counters gently. "And besides, it almost didn't work out for us quite a few times."

"Like when?"

"Like when I almost walked off that cliff on accident – "

"Ally."

"Or when my parents almost executed me – "

"Okay, but – "

"Or when you stabbed me – "

"I get it."

"Leilani was worried about how mad you'd be if you found out, but I convinced her you wouldn't be."

"You were wrong," Austin deadpans.

"Then that makes you a hypocrite."

Austin shrugs. "If the shoe fits, I'll wear it. I don't want my baby girl with an _outlaw_."

Ally rolls her eyes. "She's not a baby girl anymore, Austin. She's growing up. Your 'baby girl' is Kaia."

"They both are." The King sighs and looks at Ally, his expression laced with exhaustion and worry. "I just don't want anything bad happening to her."

Ally smiles gently and brushes Austin's always-messy hair out of his hazel eyes. "You can't keep her in your protective bubble forever, Austin. She has to go out, experience life, learn who she is and find her own path."

Austin sighs, closing his eyes and leaning his forehead against hers. "You're not supposed to be this wise, kid."

"Back to 'kid' now?" she teases.

Austin opens his eyes and narrows them at her. She smiles and combs her fingers through his hair soothingly.

"Queens have to be wise, it's in the job description," she says. "And besides, it's not like I was _always_ gonna be that naïve."

Austin leans back enough to look at her properly. "Just like she's not always gonna be under my protection from the world?"

Ally smiles more, moving her hand from his hair to his cheek and pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "Exactly."

* * *

"But _daaaaaad_ ," Xander whines, "you promised!"

"And I intend to _keep_ my promise," Austin says. "But I can't right now."

"But I'm sick of playing with Kaden! He always whines whenever I win the swordfight!"

"Then let him win for once," Ally suggests as she wipes strawberry juice off Kaia's messy face.

"Never," Xander replies, his voice lowering.

"He's seven. He doesn't stand a chance against a twelve-year-old," Austin reminds Xander.

"I don't care. He should just practice more."

"Which means you should play with him more," Austin says.

Xander groans in annoyance and wanders off.

"There, all clean," Ally says to Kaia with a smile.

Kaia grins back and Ally stands up from where she was kneeling on the ground.

"C'mere, nugget," Austin says, leaning down to pick up the three-year-old.

"Hi, daddy!" Kaia says with a grin, her blonde hair falling into her eyes.

Austin smiles and kisses Kaia's cheek, and Ally walks over to them.

"Mom?" Leilani says, poking her head into the room. "Oh, hey dad."

"Everything okay?" Austin asks, knitting his eyebrows.

"Sissy!" Kaia squeals, reaching her arms out to Leilani even though she's on the other side of the room.

Leilani glances at her sister and smiles before looking at Ally again. "Um…there's someone I want you to meet."

Ally looks at Austin, who looks at her, and then they both look at Leilani again. The brunette teen takes a deep breath and opens the door completely, walking into the room holding a boy's hand.

He's tall and muscular, with a sharp jaw and arched eyebrows. His curly, dirty blond hair is disheveled and sticking out in wild directions all over his head, and it's long enough to cover his ears. His eyes are piercing blue, and even though he looks nervous, his expression still shows hints of a mischievousness she's learned all outlaws possess.

"Who's this?" Austin asks, trying to sound as terrifying and kingly as possible (although the three-year-old humming absently in his arms while she plays with his hair kind of ruins the effect).

"I'm – " the boy starts, his voice cracking. He clears his throat and bows awkwardly before standing up and smoothing down his clothes. "I'm Carter, Your Highness. Carter Wilde." He glances at Leilani, whose cheeks are tinted pink as she bites her lip and looks at Austin.

"I see," Austin says, narrowing his eyes menacingly (which, again, is ruined by the sight of his toddler in his arms). "And what're you doing in our castle, _Carter Wilde_?"

"Well, um, your daughter invited me," Carter replies. Leilani elbows him not-so subtly in the side. "Your Highness," Carter squeaks as an afterthought.

Austin glances at Ally, and then at the curly-haired boy again. "And why would she do that?"

"Well…" Carter begins, swallowing nervously as he tries (and fails) to wipe his sweaty palms on his pants without Austin and Ally noticing. "She – _we_ – figured that – that if we're going to, um," – he clears his throat – "court, sir, we should, um, have your – and the Queen's – blessing," he manages, glancing at Ally. She gives him an encouraging smile to show that she's on their side. He seems to relax slightly before looking at Austin again.

"So you, an _outlaw_ , want to court my daughter, a princess," Austin says, raising his eyebrows.

"Y – yes, Your Highness. With your permission."

"And the Queen's?"

"And the Queen's," Carter agrees, nodding nervously at Ally.

"And you think that I, the King, and my wife, the Queen, will be okay with you courting our daughter, with all the crimes you've committed?"

"I…well, I know I've done bad things, Your Highness, but only to keep myself and my family alive. I – I never stole from anyone who had nothing to spare, a – and I only took what I needed, nothing more. I know that isn't much of an excuse, but I promise that I am not the coldhearted, soulless outlaw that is so strongly stereotyped here."

Austin looks at Ally, and she gives him a hopeful smile. He turns to Carter again and opens his mouth.

"Please, King Austin, give me a chance," Carter says quickly. He glances back at Leilani, who gives him a nervous smile, and then looks at Austin once again. "Your daughter is the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I may have done some pretty bad things but I will always treat her right and I'll be anything I have to be in order to gain your approval."

Austin takes a deep breath.

Ally watches him, hoping he'll be reasonable like she had originally expected.

"The Queen's father gave me a chance after I had done much worse than you, so I guess it's only fair if – "

"Thank you, dad!" Leilani squeals, rushing over to hug Austin.

Ally grins at the sight, and she notices a relieved smile forming on Carter's face as well.

* * *

Ally sits straight up in bed, waking up from a nightmare. She tries to calm her pounding heart and relax, but despite her efforts her body trembles and a few fearful tears escape her eyes. She quickly wipes them and sniffles, reminding herself that it wasn't real.

She's long over her almost-execution all those years ago, but every once in a blue moon she'll have one of her recurring nightmares about it and all the memories and terror come rushing back in full force.

"Ally?" she hears Austin's sleep-filled voice next to her. She feels the bed shift as he sits up a bit to look at her in the darkness.

"I – I'm okay," she says.

Austin sighs in the way he always does when he knows that she's just trying to act strong because she's still as stubborn as ever and doesn't like showing weakness, even to him. Then he sits up more and finds her arms, trailing his hands up to her shoulders and then her face, where he gently wipes the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs.

"I told you I was okay," she objects, using a still-shaky hand to make a halfhearted attempt at pushing his hands away. But he just returns his hands to her cheeks and presses a lingering kiss to the tip of her nose.

"It's okay to _not_ be okay," he whispers a few seconds later.

"I _know_ that, but I _am_ okay," she whispers back. "I'm strong."

Austin's silent for a few beats, and she knows that he's debating whether or not to keep arguing with her. But he must decide to drop it, because the next thing that comes out of his mouth is, "Let's go back to bed."

She nods wordlessly and they lay back down. She feels his arm circle around her waist and pull her into him so her back is pressed against his chest. He slips his other arm underneath her and grabs both of her hands, pulling them up and into her chest as he pulls her legs between his.

She relaxes in his embrace and closes her eyes as he presses soft, gentle kisses to her shoulder and the back of her neck.

She feels his lips curve into a small smile against her skin, and she squeezes his hands in a silent confirmation that she really is okay now.

"Sweet dreams, Ally. They're the only place you'll ever be able to take that bear."

She smiles, starting to drift off to sleep. "I still could've beat it and you know it."

"Mmm, maybe we'll have to find it and let you fight it."

"I'll win."

Austin's silent for a few moments, and if it weren't for the light kisses still slowly peppering her shoulder and neck she'd think he was asleep.

"I love you," he whispers with his lips brushing against her ear.

"I love you too," she replies, slightly louder so he can hear her.

He presses one last kiss to the back of her neck and then nuzzles his nose in her hair, inhaling and pulling her closer into him.

She finally falls asleep in the arms of her knight (or King) in shining armor, and the nightmare doesn't come back.

* * *

 **So this didn't turn out exactly how I planned but I still like it nonetheless, and I hope you guys did too. :) I can't remember if I did my thank you's last chapter or not but I'm going to do them now anyway. So thank you to all of you lovely readers, whether you've been here since day one or it's three a.m. on a school night and you just read the entire thing in one sitting (if that's the case please go to bed omg). Thank you for reading and enjoying what I wrote and thank you for putting up with my random and unpredictable updating. Thank you for all of your sweet reviews, both on here and on Twitter (insert special thank you to my Twitter family I love you all so much). Also special thank you to Lexy for helping me out with ideas and giving me motivation to write. And again thank you everyone for making what I do feel like it means something.**

 **That was sappy. It's almost one a.m. Don't judge.**

 **Eh, for old time's sake.**

 **~Maddie :)**

 **P.S.**

 **it's 2 scary :(**

 **the waist**

 **(still dying)**


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